Star Wars (Starring the Doctor) Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
by blade0627
Summary: The end of the Clone War has come for the galaxy, and the time has arrived for the Sith to make their move for total control. Caught in the middle of the struggle is the Doctor, and he must deal with the betrayal of people he thought were his allies and the death of some of his closest friends. The Jedi Order has been brought to its knees, but there is a hope. I don't own SW or DW.
1. The End of the War

Prologue: The End of the War

The galactic war known as the Clone War was drawing to a close. However, for the Jedi and their Grand Master, the Gallifreyan Jedi Master known as the Doctor, the fight was still raging on, even to the last hours of the conflict.

In a very surprising move, nearly the entire fleet of the Republic's current enemy, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, had made a run for Coruscant, leading to a massive-scale invasion of the Republic's capital. During the ensuing battle, the military leader of the Confederacy, the fearsome General Grievous, kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine as well as two Jedi Masters of the High Council, Stass Allie and Shaak Ti. The Doctor was now giving chase, joined with Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former Padawan, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.

But dark times were lying in wait for the Jedi Order. Darth Sidious, revealed to be a real person, had plans to take over the galaxy and establish a Sith Empire. The Doctor had put Jedi Master Mace Windu to the task of finding this mysterious Sith Lord, but he had come up with nothing, with the exception of one fact: Darth Sidious was in a position where he was close to the Chancellor himself. Other than that, unfortunately, Mace could find nothing.

The Doctor worried almost constantly for the future of the Jedi Order, and he would soon realize that his fears were not misplaced. Little did he know that the Sith had plans for one of its most powerful members, and that this Jedi would go on to exterminate much of the Order during what would come to be known as the Great Jedi Purge.

This is the story of the Doctor during the final days of the Republic, the fall of the Jedi Order, and the rise of the Galactic Empire.


	2. The Battle of Coruscant

Chapter One: The Battle of Coruscant

The space immediately surrounding the Core World of Coruscant was filled with lasers and ships. The capital ships of the Galactic Republic, Venator-class Star Destroyers, were shooting relentlessly at the Lucrehulk-class battleships, Munificent-class frigates, and Providence-class destroyers of the Separatist Alliance. ARC-170 starfighters, piloted by the Clone Army of the Republic, were chasing and being chased by Separatist tri-fighters and vulture droids. It was a scene of absolute chaos as Republic ships were scrambling to capture one ship and one ship only. The _Invisible Hand_, wherein two Jedi Masters and the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic were being held by General Grievous.

This ship was also the target of three Eta-2 Actis-class starfighters, each carrying an experienced member of the Jedi Order and their trusty astromechs. These Jedi had been tasked with rescuing the Chancellor and the Jedi Masters, and they were the best for the job. The galaxy watched with bated breath as the Battle of Coruscant unfolded, confident in the skills of the three Jedi tasked with rescuing the hostages.

These three Jedi were Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and the Doctor.

The Doctor flew his deep blue starfighter around countless droid and Republic fighters, taking in the sheer number of ships and marveling that all of them had come to either protect or capture one man. The Chancellor. He was the Republic's lifeline in this war. Without him, it would barely function. The Senate had voted him so many emergency powers already that he may as well have been an emperor by the time he was kidnapped by General Grievous.

Regardless of the Doctor's feelings on the amount of power Chancellor Palpatine had, he had a duty to the Republic. He would do his best to protect their leader and retake him from the clutches of the Separatists.

The Doctor's astromech droid, R3-K9, trilled at him, giving him a readout on his fighter's Heads Up Display.

"Nice work, R3," said the Doctor. "Gentlemen, if you look directly ahead of you, you'll see the _Invisible Hand_, flagship of General Grievous."

"The one crawling with vulture droids?" asked Anakin.

"Yup," said the Doctor, popping the "p."

"I see it," said Obi-Wan. "Oh, this will be easy."

"Your sarcasm is very evident, Obi-Wan," joked the Doctor.

"Really? Didn't notice," said Obi-Wan. "I was concentrating too much on the vulture droids."

The vulture droids in question had left Grievous's ship, being deployed as reinforcements to the droids' dwindling fighter count. Behind the Jedi fighters, the Doctor could hear a squad of ARC-170s swoop in right behind them.

"Is that you, Oddball?" asked the Doctor.

"I copy, Blue Leader," came the voice of Oddball, a clone pilot.

"Oh, good! Lovely!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Form your squad up behind me and the boys here, would you?"

"We're right with you, Doctor," said Oddball. "Lock S-foils in attack position."

The Eta-2s and the ARC-170s did so, and the entire squad flew right into the flight path of the vulture droids coming to meet them.

"This is where we get to have some fun, isn't it, Doctor?" asked Anakin, excitement and glee in his voice.

"Oh, yeah!" shouted the Doctor, just as excited as Anakin.

"Let the vulture droids pass through our formation," said Obi-Wan, always remaining calm in the face of danger.

What happened next was complete and utter chaos. The Doctor weaved through the droid fighters, careful not to hit any of them or their lasers as they fired at the Jedi and the clones. The Republic fighters shot back, but, for some of them, the droids numbered too many. Quite a few clone fighters were shot down by the onslaught of lasers with which the droids fought. The Doctor felt a pang of sadness for each and every one of them.

When they had passed through the vulture droids, another problem emerged. Droid tri-fighters had picked them up and were firing relentlessly at the clones and Jedi. The Jedi were quick enough to avoid the lasers, their fighters not even suffering a scratch. The clones, unfortunately, were not so lucky.

"They're all over me!" shouted a pilot to his brothers. "Get them o-" The pilot's cry for help was silenced by static, and he became another casualty in this long and brutal war. The Doctor had seen a lot of that during the Clone War, and it never got any easier for him. The deaths of his men and those around him were hard things to take in, even though he knew that they were joining with the Force.

"I'm going to go help them out," said Anakin, who was apparently as perturbed as the Doctor was about the deaths of the clones.

"No," said Obi-Wan. "They are doing their job so that we can do ours." Even though Obi-Wan was leaving the clones to fend off against the droids, the Doctor knew that, deep down, the Jedi Master was affected, too, by their deaths.

The Doctor's focus was drawn to some vulture droids who had moved into their flight path and were seemingly on a collision course with them. Two of the lead droids made miniscule movements at the front tips of their wings. Four bursts of blue smoke from both fighters told the Doctor exactly what they were doing and what they had planned for them.

"Missiles!" he called. "PULL UP!" The three fighters just barely managed to swerve out of the way as the missiles streaked across the space that they had once occupied.

"They overshot," said Obi-Wan.

"Yeah, but they're coming around," reported Anakin grimly.

Sure enough, the Doctor looked back, and he saw eight missiles looping around towards the Jedi fighters.

"Split up!" ordered the Doctor. "We can divide and conquer."

"Good idea, Doctor," said Obi-Wan. The Doctor banked a hard left, taking three of the missiles off Anakin and Obi-Wan. They had a lock on him and were steadily gaining.

The Doctor quickly calculated that at the rate they were gaining, the missiles would impact in twenty-six point four-five seconds if he didn't think of a plan. He had plenty of time, then. In fact, he already had a plan in motion.

"R3!" he called after only a few milliseconds of thought. The droid responded immediately. "We don't happen to have a spare parts canister like on the Delta-7s, do we?"

R3 trilled affirmatively.

"Fantastic!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Jettison them for me, would you?"

The moment he said it, the Doctor's Eta-2 released its spare parts canister into the path of the missiles. Their targeting computers took the bait, and the Doctor soon felt and heard three explosions behind him. R3 shrieked happily as the Doctor went to rejoin Anakin and Obi-Wan.

The young Jedi Knight had already gotten rid of his missiles, but his former Master was having a bit more trouble. Obi-Wan tried to shake them off, but he was simply unable to, not being as well-versed in starfighters as his companions. The Doctor was about to shoot the missiles from behind when they suddenly sped up in front of Obi-Wan, having locked onto another target. The Doctor looked ahead and saw several dozen buzz droids, annoying little buggers that knew exactly how to disable anything mechanical, deploying from a few droid tri-fighters. The tri-fighters quickly got out of the way as the buzz droids impacted with Obi-Wan's fighter and started hacking away.

"Anakin! Doctor!" cried Obi-Wan. "I'm hit!"

"I see them!" said Anakin. "You've got buzz droids!"

"Yes, I am aware," said Obi-Wan sarcastically.

The Doctor watched as, in seconds, the buzz droids had cut through the outer plating of Obi-Wan's Eta-2 and had begun to slice into the controls. One of the buzz droids even got to his astromech, R4-P17. By the time Obi-Wan had warned the droid, it was too late. R4's domed head had come completely off, and the droid was no more. The Doctor could have sworn he heard R3-K9 gulp, or at least perform the droid equivalent.

"Oh, dear!" cried Obi-Wan. "The buzz droids are shutting down all my controls!" The Doctor could see that this was true. ALready, Obi-Wan's starfighter was flying a bit lopsided as the buzz droids went to work. He would hate to see the poor fighter after they were finished with it.

"Move to the right! I can't get a clear shot!" said Anakin. The Doctor could see what he was planning, and he knew instantly that it was suicide. Obi-Wan apparently thought the same as the Doctor.

"What?!" he cried out. "No! Anakin, you and the Doctor have a mission! You need to get to the command ship and get the Chancellor and Masters Ti and Allie!" But Anakin wasn't listening. Instead, he had begun firing at Obi-Wan's fighter, hoping to take out the buzz droids. He did hit most of them, but he also shot off the port S-foil. Obi-Wan's fighter rocked from side to side as his fighter fought to try and stabilize itself.

"In the name of the Force, Anakin!" cursed Obi-Wan.

"Anakin, hold your fire!" ordered the Doctor.

"I agree, Doctor," panted Anakin, shocked that he had almost killed his best friend. "That was a very bad idea." The fighters continued on, the Doctor and Anakin both working out new ways to get to Grievous's ship and save Obi-Wan at the same time.

An explosion sounded off just past the fighters, and Obi-Wan's cockpit started to fog, the heat of the explosion impacting against the cold glass of the Eta-2's outer cockpit. A few buzz droids were knocked off the fighter by the intense wind with which the fog was brought about, but there were still a few who kept working. They didn't care about the cold because it didn't slow them down. They only cared about their objective, which, at this point, was destroying Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"I can't see a thing," said Obi-Wan. Anakin, having apparently formulated a plan, accelerated towards Obi-Wan's fighter, unlocking his S-foils in the process.

"Anakin, what are you doing?" asked the Doctor, wary of the plan, which seemed to be just like Anakin's other plans; reckless and dangerous. Then again, some of the Doctor's own plans were reckless and dangerous, as he recalled.

"It's okay, Doctor. I've got this," assured Anakin. The Knight then proceeded to ram his wing up against Obi-Wan's fighter, destroying a few buzz droids and knocking off a few more.

"Hold on, Anakin," said Obi-Wan, scared by the plan his best friend had come up with. "You're going to get us both killed."

"No, it's okay," said Anakin. "I know what I'm doing."

"I beg to differ," countered the Doctor. "Although Obi-Wan's fighter does to be in need of more scratching, it seems," he added cheekily.

"Doctor, please don't encourage him. Anakin, you need to get out of here!" ordered Obi-Wan. "There's nothing more you can do!"

"We're not boarding the _Invisible Hand_ without you, Obi-Wan," said Anakin seriously as he moved to side-ram Obi-Wan's fighter again. The Doctor saw that all but one of the buzz droids had been crushed to death by the attack. This one buzz droid hopped over from Obi-Wan's starfighter to Anakin's starfighter. It crawled over the cockpit and faced down Anakin's loyal astromech droid, R2-D2, with its whirring buzzsaw. R2 responded by drawing an electric probe from the top of his head.

"Get him, R2!" encouraged Anakin. The buzz droid moved forward, but was pushed back by a shock from R2. The buzz droid threatened R2 with another instrument, but the brave astromech was not fazed in the slightest. The Doctor then thought of something that would definitely help his astute little friend. He had just remembered a little known fact about the circuitry of buzz droids that he had come across during the course of the war.

"R2!" called the Doctor as he watched the duel of the droids ensue. "Lock on to the droid's center eye!"

R2 beeped affirmatively, and soon electrocuted the buzz droid in its center eye. It convulsed for a moment, then flopped over, dead. The buzz droid's carcass flew off Anakin's starfighter, unable to hold on to it any longer.

"Yeah! Nice job!" shouted Anakin.

"Great work, R2!" called Obi-Wan.

"Brilliant job!" said the Doctor.

Now that the issue with the buzz droids was resolved, the Doctor and his companions could now focus on more important issues, like the fact that they were closing on General Grievous's flagship. They were so close to getting to the Chancellor and the Jedi. They just needed to avoid the multitude of lasers coming from the ship and somehow manage to take out the shield in about a few seconds time. No big deal, the Doctor figured.

"Boys, we're closing on Grievous's ship," reported the Doctor.

"Doctor, I do believe the shields to the hangar bay are still up," said Obi-Wan.

"I'll take care of that, Obi-Wan," said Anakin confidently as he fired on the generator holding the shields intact. After a few shots, the shield generator short-circuited and exploded, deactivating the hangar shields. Almost immediately, the _Invisible Hand's_ computer system recalibrated for the sudden loss in pressure. The Doctor felt a wave of dread wash over Obi-Wan as a blast door extended out from one side of the hangar and threatened to shut the hangar on the Jedi completely.

"Oh, I have a very bad feeling about this," said Obi-Wan as the three Eta-2s hit maximum speed and rushed into the hangar at the very last second. The Doctor and Anakin both made it inside just as the hangar blast door closed completely. The battle droids that hadn't gotten sucked out into space were steadily trying to get back on their feet. As they did so, they didn't notice the Jedi fighters skidding towards them. The Doctor definitely hit at least three before he jumped out of his starfighter and joined Obi-Wan in cutting apart some of the others.

"Blast them!" called one of the droids as the Doctor, Obi-Wan, and Anakin mercilessly cut them down and sent their blaster bolts redirecting right into them. The two remaining astromechs, R2 and R3, had deployed from their respective starfighters and were wheeling in between the laser bolts, ignored completely by the battle droids, who were focusing more on the Jedi than the astromechs.

"Locate the Chancellor and the Jedi, you two!" ordered the Doctor. The astromechs began immediately searching the database in the ship's computer for the most recently-captured prisoners and their locations while the Jedi finished off the battle droids. Their collective four lightsabers formed an impenetrable defense that easily defeated the weak offensive put up by the battle droids in seconds.

As the last of the droids collapsed in a heap, R2 and R3 each displayed a hologram of the _Invisible Hand_ with red lines going through the ship and stopping at separate points.

"Looks like the Chancellor has been taken to the observation platform here," said Obi-Wan, pointing to the topmost spire of the ship.

"The Jedi Masters have been taken down to the holding cells in the lower levels of the ship," observed the Doctor.

"How do you know they haven't been executed already?" asked Anakin.

"I know Grievous," answered the Doctor. "He's just captured two Jedi Masters of the High Council. He'll want to make a show of their executions, and that will only come after he escapes. Remember Master Koth?" During the second year of Clone Wars, General Grievous had gotten his hands on Jedi Master Eeth Koth, who was a Council member at the time, but had since retired and been replaced by fellow Zabrak Agen Kolar. He personally contacted the Jedi Temple to show off his capture of Master Koth, and he would likely do the same with Stass and Shaak Ti's execution if the Doctor didn't rescue them first.

"Sounds logical," concurred Obi-Wan. "We'll split up, then?"

"That looks to be the plan," agreed the Doctor.

"I sense Count Dooku," warned Anakin. The Doctor had picked up the Sith Lord's arrogant demeanor when he landed in the hangar bay almost instantly. Anakin was right. Count Dooku was on board this ship, no doubt waiting to strike at anyone who went to rescue Chancellor Palpatine.

"I can sense a trap," said Obi-Wan, who seemed to be following the Doctor's logic.

"What's our next move?" asked Anakin.

"Spring the trap, of course," said Obi-Wan with a smirk.

R2 and R3 beeped and trilled, respectively, waiting for orders from their Jedi commanders.

"I need you to stay with the fighters, R2," said Anakin.

"You, too, R3," said the Doctor. "Take this, and await my command." The Doctor threw a comlink to R3, who caught it with an extendable arm-like device on his chest.

"Here's a comlink for you, R2," said Obi-Wan, throwing one to R2 as well. "We'll contact you for further instructions."

R2 and R3 both beeped affirmatively, patiently awaiting their orders as the Jedi made their way to their respective captives. Their paths were side-by-side for quite a few hallways until they reached a series of elevators. Knowing that he would have to go down, the Doctor went to bid farewell to his companions, who would be going up.

"Well, I suppose this is where we go our separate ways," said the Doctor.

"Indeed it is," said Obi-Wan, who, smiling, added, "May the Force be with you, Doctor."

"May the Force be with you," said Anakin, also wishing the Doctor the best on his journey.

"And to you both," said the Doctor as he pushed the down button on the elevator.

When it came, he stepped into the empty car, closed the doors, and was soon off to rescue Stass Allie and Shaak Ti by himself.

* * *

><p><strong>Hello again! For those of you who have been reading the story so far, welcome back! If this is your first time reading one of my stories, welcome! This is, obviously, the first chapter of Star Wars (Starring the Doctor) Episode III: Revenge of the Sith! I hope you enjoyed it! I certainly had a blast writing it!<strong>

**As per my newly-accepted usual, the next chapter will go up next Friday. Until then, please feel free to leave a review telling me what you think of the story so far!**

**It feels like forever since I last posted, even though it's only been a week. It's probably because I've had very long days with an unacceptably low amount of sleep in between. This weekend will certainly give me some much-needed R&R in preparation for next week, which I'm sure will be just as crazy as this past week.**

**Since I've gotten into a habit of talking about new Doctor Who episodes, I figured I might as well continue that trend by talking about Episode 3 (not to be confused with Episode III) to kick off the first full chapter of Episode III (not to be confused with Episode 3). Personally, I loved this episode. I like the fact that there's something even the seemingly all-knowing Doctor doesn't know exists or doesn't believe in, namely Robin Hood. The fact that Robin Hood is one of the central characters of that episode is a really neat character-building device for the Twelfth Doctor. I especially like the scene at the end of the episode wherein Robin Hood and the Doctor are talking about legends and how Robin Hood will become so much of one that he doesn't seem real, even to a time traveler like the Doctor. And the Doctor is the same way. He's lived so long and done so much that he himself has become a legend in the manner of Robin Hood. The moment that he realizes that is my second-favorite part of the episode.**

**My favorite part: The scene in the beginning of the episode where the Twelfth Doctor fights Robin Hood in a sword duel with a spoon. That was just awesome. No other words can describe it.**

**And Clara is adorable. As always. And I'm still really sad that she's leaving after Series 8. On the bright side, at least I like Danny Pink. Hopefully, we'll see more of him in Episode 4 (not to be confused with Episode IV because he's nowhere in there).**

**Anyway, that about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	3. I'm Here to Rescue You

Chapter Two: I'm Here to Rescue You

The Doctor was alone in the elevator that took him down to the detention level of the _Invisible Hand_. While he waited for the car to stop and the doors to open, he whistled a small tune to himself and thought about how he would get Stass and Shaak Ti out of their cells. He wasn't quite familiar with the layout of this particular Separatist destroyer, as it was a modified version, but he generally assumed that the layout would be similar to the destroyers he had been on before.

He felt the elevator come to a stop, and he saw the doors open. Two battle droids were standing in the doorway, their blasters not even ready for the Doctor. The Gallifreyan Master ignited his main saber and cut the droids in two pieces lightning fast. They didn't even have time to process the move before they lay on the floor of the detention level, destroyed.

The Doctor moved through the vast hallways of the detention level, using his deep connection to Stass to figure out just where she and Shaak Ti were being held. He tried calling out to Stass with his mind, but he found his normally very strong telepathy blocked by a powerful Dark Side entity. The entity, which the Doctor assumed to be Count Dooku, could not get inside him and hinder his location ability, but his telepathy was definitely blocked out. The Doctor would do without it for now; he could talk to both Stass and Shaak Ti when he found them.

His location ability told him that Stass was in a cell in the intersecting hallway ahead of him and to the right. The Doctor ran into no resistance as he closed in on Stass's cell. The Doctor could sense another presence in the room with her, and he deduced from the strong Force signature that it was Shaak Ti. He pressed a big red button next to the door of the cell that caught his eye, and it opened the door, revealing Jedi Masters Stass Allie and Shaak Ti, who both looked minorly injured, but no worse for the wear otherwise.

"Did you miss me?" asked the Doctor jokingly, smiling at his Jedi comrades.

"Doctor!" Stass just about shrieked, but unable to reach him because of the containment field that was imprisoning her. Shaak Ti was in a similar situation, held up in midair by a containment field. The Togruta smiled at the Doctor in greeting.

"Hello, Masters," said the Doctor. "What say we get you out of there, shall we?"

The Doctor activated his shoto saber and cut through the bottom of the containment fields, letting the Jedi Masters down slowly as he reached out and caught them with the Force when they began to fall. The ladies glided down to their feet, at which point Stass almost attacked him in a hug.

"Well, you're obviously glad to see me," he said when she relented and stepped back. "Good to see you, too, Master Ti."

"A pleasure as always, Doctor," said Shaak Ti. "Though I do wish we had met under more agreeable circumstances."

"Couldn't agree more," said the Doctor, looking around at the dingy cell and wishing he were somewhere else.

"I suppose you have a plan for getting us out of here," said Shaak Ti.

"Sure do," answered the Doctor. "Let's go."

The Doctor did indeed have a plan. He would hijack some of the escape pods on the vessel for himself, Stass, Shaak Ti, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Chancellor Palpatine. If all went well, they would be able to land on the surface of Coruscant without any harm coming to them. It was a simple plan, but the Doctor was confident that it would work.

"Doctor," said Stass as they moved through the hallway, "we're a bit weaponless right now. Grievous took our lightsabers."

"Not to worry, Stass," said the Doctor. "I haven't encountered any noteworthy security forces, besides two very dead battle droids."

"I find it odd that they would not have more security here on this ship, especially for prisoners of our caliber," mused Shaak Ti. "I sense a trap looming for us."

"I can sense it, too," said Stass, who radiated nervousness and a bit of fear as they ran down another hallway. The Doctor could see the elevator now, but something was wrong. Something had cleaned up the mess of droid parts he had made mere minutes ago. The entire detention level was silent. Not a sound could be heard other than the footsteps of the Jedi. No cleaning droids, which meant-

The activation of a ray shield interrupted the Doctor's thought process. He quickly skidded to a stop as the ray shield quickly descended from above the heads of the three Jedi Masters, trapping them.

"What?!" cried the Doctor, confused for a moment before he realized that General Grievous had just outsmarted him. Battle droids surrounded the Jedi, raising their blasters at them, and one of General Grievous's personal MagnaGuards walked steadily over to the Doctor and faced him down.

"You will come with me, Jedi," it rasped in a low voice as it deactivated the ray shield and held its electrostaff at the Doctor, Stass, and Shaak Ti threateningly.

The Jedi Masters, being surrounded and mostly defenseless, had no choice but to go along with the MagnaGuard's demands. The Doctor's lightsabers were taken from his belt by the MagnaGuard. The Jedi were handcuffed and led to the elevator, whereupon the MagnaGuard ordered it to take them to the bridge. General Grievous would probably be there, the Doctor figured.

"I hope you have a Plan B, Doctor," muttered Stass, sensing Grievous and worrying.

"Oh, I do," the Doctor muttered back. "Don't worry."

The elevator car stopped at the bridge level, and the MagnaGuard and the several droids that had ridden it up with the Jedi stepped off and forcibly led them to Grievous, who was standing by a window and looking out into the vast space. A wheezing sound could be heard coming from the General, and the Doctor guessed that he was still recuperating from the Force Crush the Gallifreyan had used on him.

"General," said the MagnaGuard. "I have brought the Doctor."

"Good," congratulated Grievous, who turned around and looked at the Doctor with pale yellow eyes, then laughed at his opponent's helpless state.

"The Doctor's lightsabers," said the MagnaGuard, handing them to the General and joining three other MagnaGuards. Grievous looked at the lightsabers with a grim fascination that was mixed with sheer glee. The glee was amplified and almost took over his entire being when he activated the main saber, its green blade illuminating his face mask.

"At last," he said. "The lightsabers of the Doctor. These will be the most prized pieces of my collection."

The Doctor thought he would be sick. Grievous spoke of lightsabers as if they were mere possessions, but they weren't. The ones on Grievous's belt symbolized each and every Jedi who had been slaughtered by that monster since the beginning of the Clone War. He recognized all of the lightsabers on his belt. He could even see Stass and Shaak Ti's lightsabers. He had known all of those Jedi since their days of infancy in the Temple. To see their weapons taken from them as violently as they had been made the Doctor furious with Grievous. He would pay for his atrocities, one way or another.

A gentle touch from Stass calmed his rage down a bit. The Doctor released a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding, and Stass's hand disappeared from his arm, its objective of calming the storm completed.

The Doctor watched Grievous clip his lightsabers onto his belt, glee still evident in the cyborg's manic eyes. He noticed that Grievous made no directive to take them back to the holding cells on the lower levels of the ship.

"Aren't you going to put us back in containment fields, General?" called the Doctor.

"Oh, I will, Doctor, but there are still a few guests who have not yet arrived," said Grievous over his shoulder. The Doctor knew instantly that he was referring to Anakin, Obi-Wan, and probably Chancellor Palpatine as well. He also knew that General Grievous had a trap set up for them.

"You won't get away with this, Grievous," said Stass, bravely facing the General. "The Jedi will hunt you down."

Grievous turned to face Stass and slowly made his way towards her, meeting her purple eyes with his yellow. He glared down at her from his towering height and spoke softly as he stroked her cheek with his metallic, six-fingered hand.

"Oh, my dear, I already have," he said, a smile evident in his voice. "I only need to clear these ships, and we will be off into hyperspace. You, your Doctor, your Chancellor, and your Jedi friends will never be seen again." At this, Stass shrank back, terrified of the General and what he had in store for her. The Doctor put his arm around her to comfort her, and she nuzzled into his chest for a brief moment before breaking away and standing stock still. Grievous laughed for a moment, then coughed, his lungs still barely functional after the Doctor's crippling blow.

The Doctor was about to make a witty comment, but he was interrupted by the _Invisible Hand_'s captain, who reported that there was news concerning the Chancellor's imprisonment.

"What is it, Captain?" asked Grievous.

"It seems he's escaped, sir, with the help of the Jedi," said the captain.

"Count Dooku?" asked Grievous.

"Dead, sir."

All at once, the Doctor felt it. Stass and Shaak Ti felt it, too. Dooku, his former Padawan, was dead. He could sense it clear as day. He may have been a traitor and a Sith Lord, but the Doctor could still remember when his ninth self took Dooku under his wing as a youthful Padawan. For that, he was saddened for a moment by the passing of Count Dooku of Serenno.

The moment soon passed when a Republic Venator swooped in and began firing on the Separatist cruiser, not realizing that the Chancellor and five Jedi were on board. The Doctor felt the rocking of the ship as plasma bolts impacted with the hull.

"All batteries, fire!" ordered the captain after the rocking ceased for the moment.

The _Invisible Hand_ matched its red lasers with the Republic's blue, and the ships fired relentlessly at each other. Both ships side-by-side, the lasers rammed their hulls in an endless succession of beats followed immediately by explosions.

As the ships passed each other, it soon became clear that the Republic Venator was winning this skirmish. The stabilizers of the _Invisible Hand _were disabled by the Venator's turbolasers. The Doctor felt a lurch, then a sudden feeling of sliding down an increasingly-vertical slope. The ship was tipping downwards towards Coruscant. The artificial gravity on the ship was trying to pull him and the rest of the bridge down with it.

"Magnetize your feet and hold the prisoners until we right ourselves!" barked Grievous at his MagnaGuards. Three of the MagnaGuards rushed over to the Jedi Masters and grabbed them by the arms, magnetizing their feet to the floor of the bridge. They would be stock still throughout this whole ordeal, the Doctor knew.

"Reverse stabilizers!" called the captain. "Magnetize! Magnetize!" His cries were heard, and the droids on the bridge responded, but it wasn't quite enough. The ship was still accelerating towards Coruscant at an alarming rate. Fear emanated from the captain as he ran out of ideas to try and right the ship. Grievous had a last-minute idea, and the Doctor found himself surprisingly hoping that it would work.

"Fire the emergency booster engines!" he shouted. The droids did as he told, and the Doctor found the ship righting itself and beginning to fly in a forward path once more. The Doctor, Stass, and Shaak Ti were all released by the MagnaGuards, who retook their positions beside Grievous.

"We've leveled out, sir," said a droid.

Grievous ignored the droid, instead barking to one of the security droid commanders on the bridge, "Find those Jedi and their beloved Chancellor. Search the entire ship if you have to. I want them alive." Grievous coughed after he said this, a hacking violent thing that made the Doctor think that the General would have vomited his lungs out if he could.

"Having issues there, General?" asked the Doctor cheekily.

"No thanks to you, Jedi scum!" yelled Grievous after he recovered from his fit. "Be silent!"

"Doctor, please try not to upset him," said Shaak Ti just as cheekily. "He gets ever so violent."

"I will crush your skull and snap your bones like twigs if you are not silent at once!" shouted Grievous. That shut the Jedi up for a while. The Doctor did love irking Grievous in this way, but he didn't want to put Stass or Shaak Ti at risk because of his continued bantering with Grievous.

A few minutes passed, and nothing happened with regards to Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Palpatine. Perhaps they had gotten safely off the ship, and the Jedi Masters were now Grievous's only prisoners. The Doctor had hoped that it was so, but his hopes were dashed when a droid commander came to Grievous with a report.

"Sir, we've found the Jedi and the Chancellor," it droned. "They're in Hallway 328."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Grievous. "Activate ray shields!"

The General had trapped the others as well. The Doctor felt defeat emanate from Stass and Shaak Ti as well as himself, but he wouldn't for a second let it show as Grievous ordered the newly captured men to be taken prisoner. He stared defiantly at Grievous as his droids found the prisoners and brought them to the bridge.

When the droids came back, the Doctor could see that they not only found Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Palpatine, but also R2-D2 and R3-K9. The astromech rolled up to the front of the group of six, and General Grievous took the sight in and sighed contentedly.

"Ah, the negotiator, General Kenobi. We've been waiting for you," he said smoothly as Obi-Wan walked onto the bridge, followed closely by Chancellor Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker. Grievous regarded the young man with a kind of admiration reserved for military enemies. The Doctor knew that they had never met face-to-face, though they had done battle on a few occasions. To witness a meeting of military legends was a moment the Doctor would not soon forget.

"Anakin Skywalker," he said. "I was expecting someone with your reputation to be a little...older." He punctuated the jab with a cough. Anakin turned his head away in disgust at the General.

"General Grievous," Anakin said, his words punctuated. "You're not as tall as I thought you were."

It was now Grievous's turn to snort in disgust at the Jedi. The Doctor thought he would kill the Jedi right there, so he stepped in.

"No," he said. "No, don't. Don't do that." Anakin stepped back, not wishing to anger Grievous and bring harm to his friends and comrades.

"That wasn't much of a rescue, was it?" asked Grievous, taking the lightsabers of Anakin and Obi-Wan from a commander droid.

"You're welcome," said the droid when Grievous snatched them.

"Your lightsabers will go nicely with the Doctor's in my collection," said Grievous, attaching the lightsabers to his belt.

"You won't be taking our lightsabers," said Obi-Wan, who had the face of someone who had a plan. "And you won't be escaping."

"R2! R3! Now!" called Anakin. All at once, R2 and R3 both went nuts. The Doctor saw streaks of electricity flow from both astromechs as they effectively confused Grievous and his droids. The Gallifreyan Master used this distraction to grab his lightsabers with the Force and pull them from Grievous's belt. Activating his main saber at an angle that cut his bonds, he cut through Shaak Ti's and Stass's bonds as well, allowing them to retrieve their lightsabers. Obi-Wan had the same idea, and he had soon cut through Anakin's bonds.

"Crush them!" barked Grievous. "Make them suffer!"

The four MagnaGuards stepped forward and engaged Obi-Wan, Anakin, Stass, and Shaak Ti. The Doctor saw that the Chancellor was being hauled away by two security droids. He rushed over to them, and the droids didn't even have time to react before the Doctor cut them apart and freed the Chancellor.

"Thank you, Doctor," he said with a smile on his face.

"Anytime, Chancellor," said the Doctor. "Good to see you again."

"And you, my friend."

The Doctor ignored the MagnaGuards and battle droids on the bridge, instead gunning straight for Grievous, who looked to be trying to find an escape route.

"Not so fast!" called the Doctor, raising his lightsabers at Grievous. "How about a rematch first?"

"I defeated you once!" shouted Grievous as his arms split from two to four. Each hand held an activated lightsaber as he added, "I can do it again!"

"Not this time," said the Doctor as he engaged Grievous once again for the first time since Hypori.

Grievous was simply no match for the Doctor. He was not completely exhausted as he had been on Hypori, so his defense was much stronger. His attacks were much stronger, too, so he had the advantage from the start. His Ataru-Djem So mix proved, once again, most invaluable. The General's use of four lightsabers was a bit of a challenge, but the Doctor could focus on more than four things at a time. He had no problem focusing on four swinging lightsabers.

Grievous tried to slash at the Doctor, obviously hoping to cut him apart, but the Doctor's lightsabers were too quick for the General's. In his relatively fresh state, he could anticipate and plan a counter for Grievous's moves long before the cyborg made them. Grievous was becoming increasingly frustrated, and the Doctor played off that frustration, agitating him incessantly as he weaved around the General's four whirling blades. After only a minute, it was over.

The Doctor kicked Grievous away, causing him to stumble and fall, and he held the tips of his blades at the General. Grievous was at his mercy, just as he had been over two years ago.

"Go ahead, then!" challenged Grievous. "Kill me, Jedi!"

The Doctor seriously considered it. After all the atrocities this barbarian had committed, he, the Doctor, had the power to end it there and then. He could avenge his fallen comrades' deaths. But then he remembered Jango Fett, and the awful taste killing him to avenge a fallen Jedi Master had brought him. He didn't want that on his conscience a second time, so he deactivated his lightsabers and stepped back.

"I never would," he said darkly.

Grievous took the time to laugh evilly.

"Then you will lose, Doctor," said the cyborg as he whipped out a pistol and shot the transparisteel window beside which they were duelling. The Doctor quickly jumped to a nearby computer console and held on for dear life as space threatened to blast him out of the bridge and into oblivion. He could see his fellow Jedi and Palpatine holding on as well. R2 and R3 had magnetized their legs to the floor similarly to the MagnaGuards. Various droid parts were thrown out of the bridge, and the Doctor guessed that his Jedi companions had been the ones to cut them down in the first place.

Blast doors similar to the ones on the bridge closed off the open window, and stable pressure was reestablished. The Doctor's feet fell to the floor as the Jedi and the Chancellor recovered from being pulled by the vacuum. The Doctor joined Anakin and Obi-Wan at the central controls on the bridge. They hooked up to the _Invisible Hand_'s main computer and began to assess the damage dealt to the ship.

"All the escape pods have been launched," observed Anakin.

"Must have been Grievous trying to make sure that none of us can escape ourselves," deduced the Doctor.

"You're probably right," agreed Anakin. "Guess we'll just have to land in here."

"You're joking, right, Skywalker?" asked Shaak Ti. "Do you even know how to fly this thing?"

"All due respect, Master Ti, I think my ability to pilot this ship is irrelevant," responded Anakin.

"He has a point," said Obi-Wan. "You might want to strap yourselves in."

"Quite right," said Chancellor Palpatine. He, Shaak Ti, and Stass all sat down in one of the unoccupied seats while R2 and R3 joined the Doctor, Obi-Wan, and Anakin at the central computer. Anakin took control of navigation while the Doctor and Obi-Wan took auxiliary functions.

"Open all hatches!" called Anakin. "Extend all flaps and drag fins!" The Doctor and Obi-Wan did as the young Knight instructed as he led the ship into the atmosphere of Coruscant. The upper atmosphere was tearing at the _Invisible Hand_'s outer hull. Pieces of shrapnel flew across the outside of the bridge. The Doctor noticed the bridge's temperature significantly increase, though it didn't affect him nearly as much as the others, who had begun to perspire from the heat. The gravity of Coruscant caught the ship, and the Doctor felt it moving faster and faster.

"We've certainly picked up speed, haven't we?" commented the nervous Chancellor.

Down and down they descended, and the Doctor heard the creaking of metal and saw the worried glances shot to everyone in the vicinity by Chancellor Palpatine. Even Shaak Ti, the normally stoic one, seemed apprehensive. Stass looked to the Doctor, a slightly scared expression on her face. Clearly, she wasn't sure if Anakin knew what he was doing. The Doctor tested his telepathy and found that it worked once more, and he sent a mental nudge of comfort to Stass, who took it graciously. He trusted Anakin to land this ship, and felt that he would do just that.

Suddenly, a loud, booming crack was heard, followed by the feeling of having a great weight lifted off the Jedi's shoulders. On the Doctor's computer display, a good half of the ship had turned from yellow to red, indicating functioning in those systems had gone dark. It was all in the posterior of the ship, however, not in the front, which indicating only one thing to the Doctor.

"It looks like we've lost something," he reported. "More specifically, the back half of the ship."

Even Obi-Wan started to look worried at the Doctor's report. R2 made a little noise that sounded as though he had said, "Uh-oh!"

"Not to worry," said Anakin, concentrating solely on his flying. "Still flying half a ship, aren't we?"

"I would not consider this flying, my friend," commented Obi-Wan. "This is more like falling with style."

"Suit yourself," said Anakin as the half-ship descended further.

"Five plus sixteen..." said the Doctor, calculating in his head fairly quickly just where in the atmosphere they were. When they reached the inner atmosphere of Coruscant, he said, "We've broken through."

"Great!" exclaimed Anakin. "Try and keep her steady, Doctor. I'll do the landing."

As the half-ship drew closer to the ground and moved at terminal velocity, the Doctor noticed Coruscant fireships on their left and right, dousing the fires that had sprouted along the surface of the half-ship with their water cannons.

"We'll take you in," said the lead firefighter.

"Copy that, thanks," said the Doctor.

"Four thousand meters to go," reported Obi-Wan. "There's a landing strip straight ahead. See if you can't park us there."

"We're coming in too fast. It might not be enough," said Anakin.

"Stass, Shaak Ti, try to slow us down with the Force a bit when we hit the surface," ordered the Doctor. Both Jedi nodded at the command and braced themselves for the impact.

R3 trilled in excitement and wariness at the same time.

"Easy there, R3," said the Doctor.

The three Jedi made some last-minute adjustments to their landing pattern as the half-ship came closer and closer to impact point. The Doctor could sense the Chancellor's fear grow immensely as they finally hit the surface, the half-ship and the landing strip screeching and groaning from the friction.

The Doctor was thrown forward a little bit when the ship hit. Stass and Shaak Ti both concentrated hard on slowing the half-ship down, outstretching their hands and calling all their power. They were definitely slowing down, but it wasn't enough to save the control tower, which was obliterated when the half-ship smacked into it. Fortunately, nothing else was destroyed, as Stass and Shaak Ti were able to quicken the process of stopping the half-ship, which came to a grinding halt.

The Doctor sat in silence for a moment, along with the Jedi, the droids, and the Chancellor. They had done it. They had successfully rescued Palpatine and the Jedi Masters. Grievous might have gotten away, but they would find him again. All in all, it was a very successful mission.

"Another happy landing," said the Doctor with a smile.

* * *

><p>The Doctor, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Stass, Shaak Ti, R2, and R3 all accompanied Chancellor Palpatine back to the Senate building, where he was greeted by an entourage of Senators, including Bail Organa, Padme Amidala, Mon Mothma, and Orn Free Taa, among others, as well as Mace Windu, a fellow Jedi Master on the High Council.<p>

R2 and Anakin disembarked from the small shuttle they had taken to the Senate building, but the Doctor and his fellow Masters stayed on board.

"Are you coming, Masters?" asked Anakin in confusion. "Surely you are, Doctor?"

"No, I'm not nearly brave enough for politics," said the Doctor. "Now with this daft old face. Besides, we have to gather the Council and report on the mission. You get to be the poster boy."

"Wait," said Anakin. "This whole operation was your plan. You called us back from the Outer Rim Sieges. You knew exactly what to do."

"He may have, Anakin, but let's not forget that you rescued me from the buzz droids," said Obi-Wan. "You also rescued the Chancellor while carrying me unconscious on your back. Not to mention you killed Count Dooku single-handedly."

"You killed Count Dooku?" asked the Doctor, who was unaware that Anakin had done it until Obi-Wan had mentioned it. "How?"

"I beheaded him, Doctor," answered Anakin with a hint of shame in his voice. "He was unarmed. I shouldn't have done it."

The Doctor paid no attention to Anakin's guilt. He was too busy being afraid of the answer to his next question.

"Scissor formation?" he asked. "His saber and yours?"

"Yes," said Anakin. "How did you know?"

The Doctor managed to get out, "Just a guess," before retreating back into the shuttle while Anakin and Obi-Wan continued their conversation. Stass looked at him warily, as though she knew that something was bothering him. And she was right. Something was bothering him. It wasn't that Anakin had killed Count Dooku. It was how he killed him. A scissor formation that resulted in Dooku's beheading. Just like in his vision he had experienced on Korriban mere months before.

The predictions had started to come true.

* * *

><p><strong>Uh oh! Foreshadowing is abound! Doesn't look good for the Doctor or the Jedi, does it? It'll probably get worse, but then it'll get better, so don't worry about that at all.<strong>

**Moving on to Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 4, I thought it was great. I thought the whole premise was cool, and I liked the message at the end that the only thing to fear is fear itself. Also, there was some archival footage of the War Doctor. Life=complete.**

**Also, I don't want to like Danny Pink's character, but I do anyway. Please help. No, but seriously, Danny's cool, though I still ship Whouffle so hard. Like, it's not even funny. It's bad.**

**Moving back to SW(SD), I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. More will be on the way next Friday for certain. Next week: The Doctor says goodbye. To whom? Well, you'll just have to find out, won't you? If you would like to venture a guess, feel free to leave your guesses in a review or private message. It's more than one character, so you should have more than one name.**

**Anyway, that about wraps up this relatively short author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	4. Saying Goodbye

Chapter Three: Saying Goodbye

The Doctor hated goodbyes. He had hated them throughout most of his lives. Even his first self held a general disdain towards them.

Each of his selves dealt with goodbyes differently. His first self didn't like saying goodbye to his Master, but he had moved on nonetheless. His fourth self tended to leave places or people without saying the awful word, feeling that it was too much like saying, "I will never see you again." His sixth self didn't say it when one of his Padawans, a young girl by the name of Peri, died unexpectedly during a mission. He simply gripped her hand as her life ebbed away, ushering her into the Force. His ninth self refused to even think the word "goodbye." It was not as though the Doctor were afraid of losing his friends. He knew eventually that they would have to become one with the Force. He just didn't like saying goodbye when the time came.

But his current self, his tenth self, would never get the chance to say a proper goodbye to many of his Jedi friends.

A few days after the Battle of Coruscant, several of his closest friends were sent out on missions to various planets in the Outer Rim and the Colonies. The Doctor, being very close with them, decided to see them off one by one.

Ki-Adi-Mundi, a Cerean member of the Jedi Council, had been selected as the next Jedi General to lead the excruciatingly long Battle of Mygeeto, which had lasted for nearly two years so far. The Doctor caught him and his clone commander, Bacara, as they were about to board a Venator bound for Mygeeto.

"Master Mundi!" called the Doctor. Ki-Adi-Mundi and Bacara turned to find the Doctor jogging towards them.

"Come to see me off, Doctor?" asked Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"That's right," said the Doctor.

"Go on ahead, Commander," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. "I'll join you shortly."

"Yes, sir," said Bacara, whose voice was gruff and regimented. The clone commander left, leaving the two friends to walk to the Venator and have a good talk.

"I just wanted you a safe journey and an even safer return home," said the Doctor.

"I thank you, Doctor," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. "I imagine I shall enjoy a nice spot of Coruscanti tea when I return home. One never can get enough of it, Doctor."

"Right you are," said the Doctor with a laugh. He knew just how much he loved the stuff.

"Or perhaps I shall continue my studies into the nature of the Force," mused Ki-Adi-Mundi. "You never do learn enough when you don't live as long as a Gallifreyan."

"Right again, Master Mundi," said the Doctor, another grin on his face. "But even I learned some new things in the past few years."

"Then I will strive to learn these new things as well."

"I hope I can teach you."

"You have taught me much, Doctor," said Ki-Adi-Mundi, facing his old mentor. "You have known me since I was a small child, and you have taught me everything I know about the Force. For that, I thank you."

"You're most welcome, Ki-Adi-Mundi," said the Doctor.

"I do not know where I would be without you, Doctor," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. "Perhaps I would be dead on Hypori, and my lightsaber would be in the clutches of General Grievous."

"Good thing it didn't come to that," commented the Doctor.

"Indeed," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. "I owe you my life, Doctor. You saved me from a terrible fate, and I want to thank you."

"You don't need to," said the Doctor. "Anyone would have done what I did."

"True, but that doesn't diminish the fact that it was you who saved my life," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. "In the event that I do not return-"

"You will, Master Mundi," interrupted the Doctor. "You are more than skilled enough to survive."

"Thank you, Doctor," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. "But just in case I am not, I want you to know that I am glad to have been your Padawan. Your teachings have inspired me to become part of something greater than myself, and I am eternally grateful for everything you have done for me. It has been an honor to fight alongside you, Doctor."

"Likewise, Ki-Adi-Mundi," said the Doctor.

The two friends bowed to each other, and Ki-Adi-Mundi boarded the Venator to depart Coruscant for Mygeeto, not looking back, for he was sure that he would come home again.

Saesee Tiin, an Iktotchi Council member, was assigned to aid in the efforts on the planet Felucia, a fungal planet on the Outer Rim. The Doctor met up with him in the halls of the Jedi Temple, already on his way out.

"Hello, Doctor," said Saesee, who, since the beginning of the Clone Wars, had become far more vocal all around. Perhaps he was now finding his element, the Doctor thought as he walked beside his friend.

"Hello, Master Tiin," greeted the Doctor. "Heading off to Felucia, are you?"

"That is correct, Doctor," answered Saesee. "I'll be aiding the forces holding the space above the planet while Barriss Offee and her troops engage the forces on the ground."

"Good plan," said the Doctor. "You always were more comfortable in space, weren't you?"

"I admit that its coldness did have a sort of fondness in my heart," said Saesee with a rare smile.

"Did?" asked the Doctor. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, Doctor, since you reached out to me all those years ago, I've been becoming more and more vocal," said Saesee. "It is to my understanding that the Council had been questioning my usefulness during meetings because of my silence."

"Well..." began the Doctor, but Saesee interrupted.

"There is no need to lie, Doctor. I know about it."

"Some of our colleagues did question your place," the Doctor admitted. "I knew that if I could get you to talk, just once, they would see that you were more than wise enough to be on the Council."

"For that, Doctor, I thank you," said Saesee. "You have shown me the way to growth and I am grateful to you for it."

"Anytime, Master Tiin," said the Doctor.

"Perhaps I could show you a thing or two about flying sometime," suggested Saesee.

"When you come home, I am your student, Master Tiin," said the Doctor, bowing to the Iktotchi.

"The Grand Master is my student," said Saesee, a musing smirk on his face. "Now, there is something you don't say every day." As he left to board his Venator in the Temple hangar bay, the Iktotchi turned back to the Doctor and added, "I'll hold you to it. I will be teaching you some tricks when I return."

"I look forward to it," said the Doctor with a smile.

"So long, my friend," said Saesee Tiin.

"Until we meet again, Master Tiin."

Saesee Tiin boarded his Venator for Felucia, not knowing what the Sith had in store for him and his Jedi colleagues.

Plo Koon, a Kel Dor Jedi Councillor, was going to take to the skies of Cato Neimoidia and would patrol the skies for any enemy fighters while Master Ferroda and his clone troopers retook the planet from the ground. The Doctor met his Kel Dor friend in the Council chamber, sitting in his seat for the last time before he went off to Cato Neimoidia.

"You ready?" asked the Doctor.

"For a routine patrol?" Plo asked back sarcastically. "I think so."

"Good," said the Doctor. "Shouldn't be too difficult, then."

"I should hope not," said Plo. "If anything, Master Ferroda has the brunt of the work. He'll be taking the ground."

"That'll be a challenge," said the Doctor, knowing that Cato Neimoidia would not easily give up its alliance with the Separatists.

"Indeed," said Plo, and the two Jedi Masters fell into a comfortable silence. The Doctor could sense, however, that Plo was growing ever more anxious as the seconds ticked past.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I feel a disturbance in the Force," said Plo. "I sense the Dark Side's hand in the events to come. It worries me."

"The Dark Side seems to surround us lately, doesn't it?" asked the Doctor.

"It does," said Plo. "It's probably nothing. I might just be anxious to get to my mission."

"That's probably it," said the Doctor.

They fell into a comfortable silence once more. When the Doctor heard Plo's voice again, it was in his head. They were communicating telepathically once more.

_Doctor, I have known you for perhaps longer than any other Jedi in the Order,_ Plo thought to him. _I have seen many of your faces, and most of them remain a mystery to me. But this face is not a mystery. Your current face is the face of my friend. I am glad to have gotten to know you and serve the Republic alongside you all these years. And I am glad to have called myself your friend._

_I am honored by your friendship as well, Master Koon,_ thought the Doctor. _You've done your duty to the Jedi admirably, and I am positive that you will continue to do so after this war is over._

_Thank you, Doctor_, thought Plo. _Now, I must depart. I shall hopefully see you in person again soon._

_I don't doubt it for a second_, thought the Doctor.

_Goodbye, Doctor._

_Farewell, Plo Koon_.

Plo Koon left the Jedi Council chamber, and, unbeknownst to him or anyone else, that suspicion that had crept up in him when he was speaking to the Doctor would become a horrific reality.

The Tholothian Jedi Master Stass Allie was called out to recon on the surface of Saleucami, aiding in the cleanup with the 91st Reconnaissance Corps. The job was meant to be given to Council member Oppo Rancisis, but the Thisspiasian was killed during the final phases of the battle by Sora Bulq, a Weequay who was thought to be dead after the First Battle of Geonosis. It was soon discovered that Count Dooku had turned him to the Dark Side and used him as a Sith Acolyte. Jedi Master Quinlan Vos avenged Master Rancisis's death, and the task of cleanup was handed to Stass.

The Doctor would never have forgiven himself if he didn't see her off to Saleucami. He just managed to catch her and her clone commander, Commander Neyo, with whom the Doctor worked on Geonosis, as they were leaving for their Venator.

"Stass!" he called.

Stass turned around and beamed at the sight of the Doctor coming towards her. She ran to him and hugged him tightly. The Doctor almost melted into her body, willing for this moment to be immortalized forever in time. Stass wrapped her arms around him tightly, not willing to let go any time soon. But, of course, people would probably have started to notice if they stood like that forever, so the two Jedi Masters separated.

"Off to Saleucami?" asked the Doctor a bit awkwardly.

"Yeah," said Stass. "Shouldn't be too terribly difficult."

"Probably not," said the Doctor. "You're capable enough for a reconnaissance mission, I hope."

"I'd like to think so," joked Stass.

"You'll be just fine," said the Doctor. "I have faith in you."

"Thank you, Doctor," said Stass, hugging him once more, this hug less frantic and more affectionate than the previous one.

Once more, the Jedi separated, and Commander Neyo intruded.

"General, we should be going soon," he said. "The ships are about to leave."

"In a moment, Commander," said Stass. "Doctor, before I go, I just want to tell you something."

"Anything, Stass," said the Doctor. "Anything at all."

Stass seemed to shy away from what she was about to say. She seemed nervous, looking around to make sure nobody was listening in to their conversation. When only Commander Neyo was present, pacing around anxiously, as though he were wanting to board the Venators as soon as possible, Stass poured her heart out to the Doctor.

"I love you, Doctor," she said simply. "I have loved you from the moment I met you back when I was a youngling, though I didn't know it yet until I had graduated to Knighthood. I tried to hide my feelings, but I couldn't hide it from myself any more than I could hide the Force from myself. Ever since Hypori, I've been trying so desperately to hold it back. I cannot hold it back any longer, Doctor. I must tell you that I love you."

The Doctor was surprised, yet not at all at the same time. He had figured that Stass cared about him, but not as immensely as she did. He thought that, perhaps, she had grown attached to him.

"Attachment is forbidden, Stass," said the Doctor. "You know that."

"This is not attachment, Doctor," protested Stass. "It's like Adi said to me before Geonosis. Love and attachment are not the same thing. Not always. I can love you without getting attached to you. This is love."

The Doctor realized that she was right. What the late Adi Gallia had communicated telepathically to her cousin before the First Battle of Geonosis was true. He knew it in his hearts, so he decided to say it.

"Well, since it could be my last chance to say it," mused the Doctor for a moment. "Stass Allie, I-" The Doctor never got the chance to tell her the whole phrase.

"General," implored Commander Neyo. "We really must be going."

The Doctor, knowing that the moment had been interrupted, shuffled his feet awkwardly as Stass answered Commander Neyo.

"Of course, Commander," said Stass, a bit annoyed, but compliant with her clone officer's wishes. "I'll see you when I get back, Doctor. Maybe then you can finish that sentence of yours."

"I will," said the Doctor, a small smile on his face. He waved to Stass, wishing her all the best on her mission. She waved back, smiling at the man she loved one last time.

If the Doctor could have seen them in person one last time, he would have told each of them something. He would have told them how much they meant to him.

If the Doctor could have spoken to Ki-Adi-Mundi, he would have told the Cerean that training him was a complete honor. He would have told him that his wisdom came not from the Doctor's own teachings, but from within. His commitment to the Order was a true inspiration, not the Doctor.

If the Doctor could have spoken to Saesee Tiin, he would have told him that he has grown so much in the past decade-and-a-half. He would have said that he truly deserved a spot on the Council. He would have told him that he would have gladly learned a hundred flying tricks from the Iktochi.

If the Doctor could have spoken to Plo Koon, he would have told the Kel Dor that being his friend has helped the Doctor to branch out to become friends with other members of the Jedi Council. The Doctor would have told Plo that the honor in serving alongside each other was his and his alone.

If the Doctor could have spoken to Stass one last time, he would have told her he loved her.

* * *

><p><strong>So, I totally forgot to update this volume yesterday. I am terribly sorry about that. It just completely slipped my mind. In any case, it's a day late, but I hope you sill enjoyed the chapter. This is basically a lot of buildup for the Order 66 chapter, and it also serves as the conclusion of development for Masters Mundi, Tiin, Koon, and Allie, which is a bit awkward from a writing standpoint, as they are still in the story for a few more chapters. But I made the best of it, and I think it should be good.<strong>

**Anyway, Time Heist. Let's talk about that for a second. The episode was awesome. Clever, well-written, and very funny. It's got that Ocean's Eleven vibe to it, which is always cool. Danny was in, like, the beginning of the episode, and that was it, but I think we'll be seeing more of him as Series 8 continues, if the trailer for the new episode is anything to go by. He's a confirmed companion for Series 8, so I think he'll travel with the Doctor and Clara at some point during the Series. Not sure if he'll leave with Clara after the conclusion of Series 8, but I can bet that he will, given that she's his girlfriend and everything. Anyway, I liked the episode. The characters were good. I liked the augmented human and the mutated human. I'd say I would want to see more of them, but their character arcs were pretty well-resolved by the end of the episode, so they're probably just one-off characters.**

**Next Friday (if I don't forget this time): Plans are set in motion, and they all revolve around Anakin Skywalker.**

**That about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	5. Premonitions and Promotions

Chapter Four: Premonitions and Promotions

The cyborg who was called Grievous was sitting in a shuttle en route to the planet Utapau. He was thinking about his tragic failure at Coruscant. Sure, he had managed to capture the Chancellor and the Jedi Masters, as well as the Doctor, Kenobi, and Skywalker, but all of them had managed to break out. On top of all that, Grievous had been forced to bear this blasted cough at the hands of the Doctor, and his ship had been destroyed again. All in all, the Battle of Coruscant was a colossal failure on the part of the Separatist Alliance.

Grievous sighed. He had been so close to attaining legendary lightsabers. He cursed himself in several different languages when he remembered that he had come so close to having the Doctor's lightsabers for his own. He had held them, and had even had the pleasure of activating the main saber. Its green blade shone in his eyes, and he had thought he would see it a lot more often. But that future was taken from him by the very man to whom the lightsabers belonged. He hated the Doctor for that. He wanted to kill him, then bring him back to life somehow and kill him again with his own lightsabers.

"General," called the droid pilot, dragging Grievous out of his murderous thoughts. "There is an incoming message."

"Play it," said Grievous.

"It is not a hologram, sir," said the droid. "It is a coded message."

"Then decode it and read it!" shouted Grievous, coughing and fuming with rage at the droid's stupidity. "I have no time for these insolent words!"

"Yes, sir," the droid fell silent as it began to decode. It came back a moment later with, "Sir, I have decoded the message. It reads: New orders from Duo Isis. Contact immediately."

Grievous thought for a moment before realizing that "Duo Isis" was an anagram for "Sidious." Lord Sidious had new orders for him.

He told the pilot to move faster towards the surface. The pilot acknowledged, and it seemed to Grievous that this was the only thing the droid could do right. The shuttle landed in one of Utapau's sinkholes, and Grievous disembarked from it.

"Welcome, General," came the voice of the ever-irritating Nute Gunray, Viceroy of the Trade Federation. Grievous hated him almost as much as he hated the Doctor and Kenobi.

Gunray, the Doctor, and Kenobi were the three beings he hated most in the galaxy, though for different reasons. He hated the Doctor because the Gallifreyan always seemed to get away from him or never fight him at all. He hated Kenobi for the fact that he always fought against Grievous and nearly always won. If he didn't beat Grievous, then they fought to a draw. Grievous had never actually managed to beat Kenobi when it came to battle tactics until he captured him briefly during the Battle of Coruscant, and even then, he escaped.

Grievous hated Gunray because he was a slimy, double-faced, cowardly worm who should never have crawled out from whatever disgusting mudhole he happened to call home at the time. He wanted so badly to kill him, but he restrained himself. It wasn't his place. Besides, he had to contact Lord Sidious. There was no time for ending pathetic lives yet.

Grievous took the elevator to a communications room in the sinkhole base the Separatists had established on the planet. He typed in a keycode for Lord Sidious's base of operations. He didn't actually know where it was. All the late Lord Tyranus had given him was the cod to contact it. Regardless, a hologram of Sidious immediately appeared before him.

"You have orders for me, Lord Sidious," said Grievous, bowing to him.

"General Grievous," said Sidious. "I suggest you move the Separatist Council to Mustafar."

Mustafar was a volcanic planet that would definitely serve well as a secret base for the Council. Grievous applauded Sidious in his mind for the Sith's strategic thinking.

"It will be done, my Lord," said Grievous.

"The end of the war is near, General," said Sidious. "The Separatists have done well."

"But what about the loss of Lord Tyranus?" asked Grievous, surprised that Sidious would make such a radical and, in the General's opinion, untrue assumption.

"His death was..." Sidious paused for a second too long. "Unfortunate." Grievous could tell, even by hologram, that Sidious didn't truly care about Tyranus's death, but he said nothing as Sidious continued.

"But it was necessary," he said. "Soon, I shall have a new apprentice. A Jedi who will be more youthful than Tyranus's pedantic and old-fashioned manner, and he will be far more powerful."

Grievous admitted to himself that he had no idea who Sidious was talking about, but he went along with what Sidious was saying.

"General, I have an assignment for you," said Sidious.

"What is your bidding, my Lord?" asked Grievous.

"I have a plan. I will be sending to you someone close to my new apprentice, a Jedi Master who will certainly test your skills," replied Sidious.

"The Doctor?" asked Grievous hopefully. He was a Master, and he was close to just about every Jedi in their stinking Order.

"No!" barked Sidious. "You have already proven that your skills are no match for the Doctor's. You may have defeated him, but he was exhausted. He came back at you on Coruscant, full-force, and nearly killed you. No. You will face a more evenly-matched opponent, one who is far closer to my new apprentice than the Doctor could ever be."

"If not the Doctor, then who?" asked Grievous.

"I will send you Kenobi," was Sidious's reply.

The hologram shut off, and Grievous was left alone to think. He would be facing Kenobi in single combat. He couldn't wait.

* * *

><p>Anakin Skywalker was a topic of discussion in the Jedi Council meeting that had been called to order a week after the Battle of Coruscant. This was not by the Doctor's choosing, or anyone else's, but Chancellor Palpatine's.<p>

The Council had been discussing battle plans for the final days of the Clone War when Chancellor Palpatine's hologram suddenly appeared and interrupted the meeting.

"Good afternoon, Masters," said the Chancellor politely. The Doctor sensed annoyance and suspicion flow off every Council member, even the holograms on far-distant worlds. The Doctor even saw Stass Allie's hologram glare at the Chancellor's for a brief moment.

"Yes, what do you require, Chancellor?" asked the Doctor, also irritated by the interruption.

"Could you perhaps send Anakin Skywalker to my office, please?" asked Palpatine.

"What is so important that you had to interrupt our meeting?" asked Mace Windu, who was perhaps the most annoyed of all the Council members.

"I'm afraid this is a personal matter that must first be discussed between myself and Anakin," said Palpatine. "You shall be informed of our discussion in due time, Master Windu."

"Fine," said the Doctor. "We'll have Master Kenobi send him as soon as we can."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Masters," said the Chancellor, disconnecting from the Council comm channel and leaving them with a new topic of discussion.

"The Chancellor is getting more intrusive in Jedi affairs," said the Doctor.

"It would seem that way," agreed Mace.

"I am left wondering what he could want with young Skywalker," said Ki-Adi-Mundi's hologram. "The two of them have become dangerously close."

"I can sense Anakin's growing faith in Palpatine," said Obi-Wan. "I'm sure we all can."

"With that faith being placed in the Chancellor, he puts less and less faith in us," said the Doctor grimly.

"We need to find out what the Chancellor's up to," said Agen Kolar, a Zabrak Master who had replaced Eeth Koth after he stepped down from the Council.

"How?" asked Kit Fisto. "What connection do we have to the Chancellor?"

"Skywalker," answered Mace.

The Doctor knew where this was headed. Mace planned to use Anakin to get to the Chancellor and find out what he has been up to. The Doctor didn't like it, but it seemed to be the only option that was feasible enough to actually be done. The other Council members saw the feasibility of Mace's plan, and they mentally nodded their assent to go through with it, even Obi-Wan.

They would have Anakin spy on the Chancellor.

"I suggest that Master Kenobi give him the assignment, then," said the Doctor secretively. "Off the record and after Anakin meets with Palpatine."

"I will, Doctor," said Obi-Wan.

"Very well," said the Doctor. "Meeting adjourned." The holograms of the Masters who were off-planet deactivated, and the Doctor could see Stass's hologram give him a small smile before fading away completely. The Masters who were on-planet stood and left the Council chamber, the Doctor, Mace, and Obi-Wan walking out together.

"What's wrong, Macey boy?" asked the Doctor, having sensed that something was amiss in the Korun Master's mind.

"I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi," said Mace. "The Dark Side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor."

"Do you think Darth Sidious will make his move after the war is over?" asked Obi-Wan.

"I don't know," said Mace. "Let's just hope we can find him out before he does make a move."

"Should we remove Palpatine from office?" asked Obi-Wan, unsure of where to move next with regards to the Chancellor. The Doctor was unsure as well. It seemed that the Jedi had been backed into a corner by Palpatine.

"Only if he doesn't give up his emergency power," said the Doctor.

"Besides, the Jedi would have to seize control of the Senate in order to secure a peaceful transition of power, and that could be tricky," said Mace.

The Doctor sighed in thought.

"This thought trail's going to take us to a dark place," he said. "We've got to be extra careful."

"I agree," said Obi-Wan.

"As do I," said Mace. "I'll continue the search for this mysterious Sidious."

"Do that," agreed the Doctor. "I'm going off to meditate for a little while. I'll see you later."

"Of course, Doctor," said Mace and Obi-Wan together as they bowed to him.

The Doctor walked off to his quarters, worried about the future of the Order. He began to dwell for a few moments on the visions he encountered on Dagobah when Qui-Gon's spirit first introduced himself as such to the Doctor. He could sense the Dark Side all around him, and he knew that Darth Sidious was getting closer and closer to achieving his final objective. If only he had been able to figure out who Sidious was on Korriban. He might have stopped this madness.

The Doctor's mind cleared for a moment as he entered his quarters. He would try to contact Qui-Gon and see if they could stop the future together.

_Qui-Gon_, he thought. _Qui-Gon, are you there?_

No answer. He tried again.

_Master Qui-Gon, I need your help. The future is being set in motion as in the visions._

Still no answer. The Doctor grew a bit frustrated and was about to try a third time when a knock on his door was heard.

"Enter," the Doctor said.

The door hissed open, and Anakin Skywalker walked into the Doctor's quarters, a neutral expression on his face. The Doctor, however, could see into his heart, and he knew that Anakin was distressed beyond all belief.

"Hello, Anakin," he said. "Something the matter?"

"I need help, Doctor," answered Anakin.

"What's the problem?" asked the Doctor.

"I've been having...visions," said Anakin shyly. "Premonitions, if you will."

"Premonitions?" said the Doctor, a bit surprised. But then he thought about it for a moment. Maybe Anakin was experiencing the same visions he had on Dagobah. Maybe he was Qui-Gon's answer in lieu of actually speaking to the Doctor directly. Yes, that made sense.

"These visions," said the Doctor. "Can you describe them?"

"They're of pain, suffering, death," said Anakin softly. The Doctor remembered speaking those words three years ago when he and Qui-Gon experienced a sensation that came about from Anakin slaughtering Tusken Raiders after his mother had died in his arms.

"Do you speak of yourself? Or is it someone you know?" asked the Doctor.

"Someone. Just one person," said Anakin. The Doctor began to lose hope. Maybe Anakin hadn't shared his visions after all.

"Is this person close to you?" asked the Doctor finally.

"Yes," was the reply. Clearly, he wasn't willing to say any more, so the Doctor gave Anakin his advice on how to approach these visions.

"You've got to be careful when you're sensing a possible future, Anakin," urged the Doctor. "The fear of loss is an emotion of the Dark Side. It leads to jealousy, and that is the shadow of greed."

"What must I do, Doctor?" asked Anakin.

"First, you've got to try and avoid that possible future," said the Doctor. "The future is always in a state of permanent flux. It's not set in stone, although some events can be, like the prophecy of the Chosen One."

"What if that fails?" asked Anakin.

"Just in case you can't subvert the future described to you in your visions, you've got to train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose."

"I'll try, Doctor, but it will be difficult," said Anakin.

"Oh, I'm sure of it," said the Doctor. "But you can't just try to do it. You just have to do it, Anakin. Understand?"

"Yes, Doctor."

Anakin nodded for a brief moment, contemplating the Doctor's instruction. Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, his face adopted an expression of shock, guilt, and urgency.

"I should go, Doctor," he said. "I'm late for the report on the Outer Rim Sieges."

The Doctor nodded, opening his door with the Force and letting Anakin out. As the young Knight thanked him and left, the Doctor wondered about the person of whom Anakin spoke. Obviously, he or she was close to him, but who could it be? Obi-Wan? It was a possibility, but it somehow seemed unlikely to the Doctor. If not Obi-Wan, then who else? Palpatine? This also seemed unlikely, although the Doctor could not quite place how. Who else was important to Anakin? The Doctor thought about everyone Anakin knew who was regarded by him as a close friend. There was Obi-Wan, Palpatine...

...and Padme.

Padme Amidala was the Senator for Naboo and had been for the past few years. She was vehemently against the Clone War from the start, even though she had taken part in its first battle. She had been in Anakin's protection many times throughout the Clone War, and he tended to get irrational when her life was on the line.

The more the Doctor thought about it, the more it made sense. If Anakin was dreaming about her, it provided all the more reason for him to let go. The Doctor thought that the young Knight might have been attached to Padme. This was not a position the Chosen One should be in.

The Doctor caught himself. The dictates of the Jedi Code were running through his mind again. He had always had trouble with the one about attachment, especially with Stass Allie. When one was over nine-hundred, one started to see the beauty of small things and want to hold on to that. So many of the Doctor's old friends had passed on that the Doctor couldn't help getting attached to them sometimes. Of course, he let them go when it was their time, but he sometimes entered a period of mourning for them. His ninth self had been grief-stricken for months when he sensed the destruction of Gallifrey. The Jedi Council allowed it, but they begged him to return to duty as soon as he could.

Gallifrey's destruction was probably the reason why this body, his tenth body, hated regeneration. When the golden light lit up his body, he would be that much closer to death, and the Gallifreyans would be that much closer to extinction. There would be none left after him, and it pained the Doctor to think of it.

There was also the fact that he liked this body. It was spry, youthful, and free-spirited. The Doctor didn't want to give it up anytime soon, though he knew the day would come when he would have to be brought down and become his future eleventh self.

He just hoped the Jedi Order wasn't brought down with him.

* * *

><p>The High Council was called to order. The seven live Masters and four holographic Masters sitting in their respective seats stared at the young man in the center, waiting for his report. This young man was Anakin Skywalker, and he was reporting to the Council what Chancellor Palpatine had wanted with him.<p>

"You may have the floor, Anakin," said the Doctor. "What did the Chancellor tell you?"

Anakin was quiet for a moment. He was nervous and excited at the same time about what he had to say; the Doctor could sense it.

"He promoted me to be his representative on the Council," he said finally.

The Council gaped in shock, even the holograms. The Doctor, while knowing that Anakin was powerful, didn't feel that he was ready for the Council. All of the flesh-and-blood Masters began to telepathically assault him. The Doctor could sense the trepidation of the holographic Masters, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Saesee Tiin, Plo Koon, and Stass, but their thoughts were not quite able to reach him across the galaxy.

_This is outrageous_, thought Agen Kolar.

_Chancellor Palpatine can't just promote whomever he wishes to our august body! _cried Shaak Ti.

_Even I cannot quite bring myself to say that he is ready_, thought Obi-Wan.

_This is a blatant abuse of the Chancellor's power, _thought Coleman Kcaj.

_Wait, Masters, _thought Mace. _We could use this to our advantage._

_What do you mean, Master Windu? _asked Kit Fisto.

_We will grant him a seat, but as a representative, not a Master. He can more easily help us in spying on Palpatine if he is on the Council, _suggested Mace. _Palpatine would never suspect._

_I agree with the plan,_ said the Doctor. _Though I'm not overly fond of spying on the Chancellor._

_How else will we find out what he's doing? _asked Obi-Wan.

_True, _acknowledged the Doctor. _Fine, then. I'll tell him._

"Anakin, we will appoint you to the Council just as the Chancellor has instructed," said the Doctor. "But we do not do so lightly. This move by Chancellor Palpatine is...disturbing."

"I understand, Doctor," said Anakin.

"You are on this Council," said Mace. "But you are only a representative of the Chancellor. You are not a Jedi Master."

Anakin gaped at Mace. On the Council, but not a Master? It was true that it had never been done before, but the circumstances of Anakin's promotion had also never come about before.

"What?" said Anakin, his voice steadily rising. "This is...This is outrageous. It's unfair! How can you be on the Council and not be a Master?!"

"Take a seat, young Skywalker," said Mace.

"No!" snapped Anakin. "Not until you explain to me the justification of your not promoting me? Is it because I'm only twenty-two and therefore the youngest Jedi to ever be appointed to the Council? Are you jealous that you're no longer the youngest, Master Windu?"

"Anakin!" roared the Doctor, who stood from his seat, anger flaring up at the boy's disobedience. "Take a seat!"

Anakin gaped in shock at the Doctor, having never heard him get angry. Through the corners of his eyes, the Doctor could see the surprise of the rest of the Council, even Mace, and especially Stass. He lowered his head for a moment in apology and shame.

"I apologize for my outburst," he said. "But you should know better than to disobey Master Windu, Anakin."

"Forgive me, Doctor," said Anakin as he went to take his seat. The two Jedi sat down in their respective seats, and discussion of the war effort resumed as normal before the Chancellor had interrupted mere hours before.

"We have circumnavigated all systems close to the Core, but have found no sign of General Grievous," said Ki-Adi-Mundi, always one to bring the conversation back to the main point.

"I suspect he's hiding in the Outer Rim," said the Doctor.

"We've got to sweep the outlying systems, then," deduced Anakin.

"Exactly," said the Doctor, eager to regain the trust of Anakin after his outburst. "We need to root him out. See if Palpatine knows anything, would you, Anakin?"

"It will be done, Doctor," said Anakin.

"How can we root him out?" asked Obi-Wan. "We don't have many ships to spare."

"And what about the droid attack on the Wookiees?" asked Plo Koon.

There had been a recent droid occupation of the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk in the hours following the failed kidnap attempt of Chancellor Palpatine. The Doctor had read about the attack and was saddened. Kashyyyk was one of his favorite worlds, and he wanted to go and fight there. Saving that world was the least he could do to thank the Wookiees for their kindness to his ninth self.

"We need to send a counterattack group to Kashyyyk immediately," said Mace.

"He's right," said Obi-Wan. "It is not a system we can afford to lose."

"I'll go," the Doctor said. "I have good relations with the Wookiees. They'll take to me well."

"It's settled, then," said Mace with finality. "The Doctor will take a battalion of clones to reinforce the Wookiees on Kashyyyk."

"Luminara Unduli has prior volunteered herself and her clone troopers to fight on Kashyyyk," reported Shaak Ti. "Perhaps she and the Doctor could join forces."

"Sounds like a brilliant plan," said the Doctor, happy that he would get to work with Luminara again. "Allons-y!"

"May the Force be with us all," said Mace, sporting a rare smirk at the Doctor's antics.

Little did the Doctor know that it would be the last smirk he would ever see Mace Windu give.

* * *

><p><strong>I do love me some third-person omniscient, don't you? Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as I did. Bit of character development for Anakin, making him feel like he's being ostracized by even the Doctor. We're getting real close to the ultimate fall!<strong>

**I have a Doctor Who episode to talk about, don't I? "The Caretaker" was really good. I love the development they gave Danny in this episode, and I especially love his reaction to the Doctor when he finds out that Clara has been lying to him. It's what any normal human being would do in such a situation. I also found it kind of funny that Danny would think that Clara and Twelve would ever be in any sort of relationship ever. They won't, by the way. Just a heads-up. I love how the Doctor just automatically dismisses Danny as a P.E. teacher because he was a soldier, and then thinks Clara is actually dating "Discount Matt Smith guy" because he's "Discount Matt Smith guy." And the villain was cool, too. Loved that guy. All in all, good episode. Can't wait for the next one!**

**Next Friday: The Doctor leaves for Kashyyyk and meets a familiar friend. Also, we get a bit more of R3-K9. I do love that little droid.**

**And that about wraps up this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	6. Kashyyyk

Chapter Five: Kashyyyk

The Doctor, Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan Kenobi were all on a gunship heading towards the Venators that Luminara Unduli and the Doctor would take to Kashyyyk. The Doctor would also meet Chieftain Tarfful there, who would help the clones by leading the Wookiees into battle. R3-K9, the Doctor's personal astromech, would also join the Doctor in logistics and technical support if needed.

Presently, Obi-Wan was reporting on Anakin's reaction to his new assignment as a spy for the Council.

"He seemed offended by the notion that there's something out of place with the Chancellor," he said. "Like you said, Master Windu, the Dark Side surrounds Palpatine, but Anakin can't see it."

"So, basically, he didn't take it well," deduced the Doctor.

"Not at all," replied Obi-Wan.

"Putting Skywalker and Palpatine in the same room is dangerous," said Mace. "I don't think he can handle it."

"What are you saying, Master Windu?" asked Obi-Wan.

"I'm saying that I don't trust him."

This was not a new notion. Mace had been wary of Anakin ever since Qui-Gon Jinn brought him before the Council thirteen years ago. Nowadays, Mace just distrusted Anakin on principle.

"All due respect, Master, but is he not the Chosen One?" asked Obi-Wan. "Will he not destroy the Sith and bring the Force into balance?"

"According to the Prophecy," replied Mace.

"We have to take into account that that Prophecy may have been misread," said the Doctor. "Or that it was never meant to be Anakin who fulfills the Prophecy."

"Regardless of our feelings on the Chosen One Prophecy, we can count on Anakin," said Obi-Wan. "He won't let me down. He never has."

"I hope you're right, Obi-Wan, for the sake of the Order," said the Doctor with an unnatural sense of dread as the three Jedi Masters fell into silence for the rest of the trip to the Venators.

The gunship arrived, and the Doctor stood up to disembark.

"I'll see you when I return, boys," he said.

"Until such time, Doctor," said Mace, bowing his head in respect.

"May the Force be with you, Doctor," said Obi-Wan, doing the same.

"And with you, Obi-Wan, Macey boy."

With that, the Doctor left the gunship and was soon greeted by Chieftain Tarfful.

"Doctor!" he exclaimed in his native Shyriiwook. "Good to see you again! You look different."

"I remodeled," said the Doctor nonchalantly, who could speak perfect Shyriiwook. "What do you think?"

"You are definitely taller, my friend," said Tarfful. "Come. My planet requires a Doctor once more."

"Lead on, Chieftain," said the Doctor.

The two warriors boarded the lead Venator, and they were soon off to Kashyyyk, leaving Coruscant while it was still under the rule of Republic for the last time in over twenty years.

The Doctor spent much of his time in his quarters, trying to contact Qui-Gon Jinn's spirit for help, but no answer came. By the time the Republic forces reached Kashyyyk, the Doctor had given up trying and simply stopped. He met with Master Luminara, Chieftain Tarfful, and Clone Marshal Commander Gree, Luminara's second-in-command, to conduct strategy planning. They knew where the droids were hiding, and the clones and Wookiee warriors would ambush them when they surfaced from the lake in which they resided.

Content with the plan's simplicity, the Doctor made to leave the bridge, but Commander Gree called to him.

"Doctor, sir!" he said. "One more thing."

"What's that, Commander?" asked the Doctor.

"General Windu contacted this vessel one standard hour ago, sir," reported Gree. "He said for you to contact the Council once you reach the surface. General Skywalker has urgent news regarding General Grievous."

The Doctor's hearts leaped inside of him. Anakin had come through. He knew where Grievous was. Thanking the Force and Gree, the Doctor paced around his quarters, waiting for the shuttle to land so he could contact the Council. He wouldn't abandon Kashyyyk for Grievous, but he wanted to be a part of the final plannings of the war, assuming they could catch Grievous where he was.

When the Republic ships finally landed on Kashyyyk, it was in Tarfful's village, Kachirho. The Doctor, R3-K9, who was already on the vessel when the Doctor had boarded, Tarfful, Luminara, Gree, and the clone battalion rushed out to set themselves up for the imminent droid attack. Gree, R3, and Tarfful went with the Doctor to a communications tower the Wookiees had set up for them. Here, the Doctor met a good friend of Tarfful's, a Wookiee by the name of Chewbacca. Chewbacca didn't recognize the Doctor until Tarfful had told him about the regeneration, at which point Chewbacca wrapped the Doctor in a bear hug.

"Oh, Doctor, it's very nice to see you again!" shouted Chewbacca in Shyriiwook.

"Thank you, Chewbacca," said the Doctor breathlessly.

When the Doctor was put down, Chewbacca explained that he was only a small cub when the Doctor first came to Kashyyyk as his ninth self, but that he revered him as a warrior and friend as his tenth self nonetheless.

"Thank you again, Chewbacca," said the Doctor. "I'll do what I can to free your planet. I swear to you from the bottoms of my hearts-and count those, by the way-that you will be safe."

"I'm sure of it, Doctor," said Tarfful.

"Sir, we should contact the Jedi Council," said Gree.

"Right you are, Commander. Plug in, R3," ordered the Doctor. The plucky astromech trilled and did as the Doctor commanded. The Doctor soon found a miniature Jedi High Council sitting before him on the holotable.

"Ah, Doctor," said Mace. "Welcome. Now we may begin. What news do you have, Skywalker?"

"The Chancellor's clone spies have reported that General Grievous is located on Utapau," said Anakin.

"Utapau? That's where he is?" asked Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"How can you be sure?" asked Stass Allie.

"A partial message was intercepted in a diplomatic package from the chairman of Utapau," explained Anakin.

"And it says that Grievous is on his planet?" asked Coleman Kcaj.

"Precisely," said Anakin.

"We need to act quickly," said the Doctor. "Grievous's capture is going to end this war at last."

"I agree," said Mace. "We need to proceed now."

"The Chancellor has requested that I lead the campaign," said Anakin.

"The Council will decide who is to go, not Palpatine," said Mace.

"A Master is needed here," said Plo Koon. "Someone with more experience."

"I agree, Master Koon," said Ki-Adi-Mundi. "We must send the one with the most experience fighting Grievous."

"In that case," said Saesee Tiin, "Master Kenobi should go."

The Doctor nodded his head, seeing this as a reasonable course of action.

"I agree," he said.

"Aye," said Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"Aye," said Mace.

"Aye." Plo.

"Aye." Kit.

"Aye." Shaak Ti.

"Aye." Agen.

"Aye." Stass.

"Aye." Coleman.

"Aye." Saesee.

"Aye." Obi-Wan.

Finally, Anakin sighed in defeat and said, "Aye."

"Very well," said the Doctor. "It's unanimous. This meeting is adjourned."

The holotable stopped displaying the Council, and the Doctor walked over to Commander Gree, who was looking out to the lake to try and spot the enemy. Chewbacca and Tarfful stood behind him as Gree addressed the Doctor.

"The droids have started up their main power generator," said the clone commander.

"Then now is the time to attack, Commander Gree," said the Doctor. "Ready your men."

"Yes, sir," said Gree.

"Chewbacca, Tarfful," said the Doctor in Shyriiwook. "Deploy your warriors."

"At once, Doctor," said Chewbacca and Tarfful.

Tarfful let out a roaring bellow that could be heard across the entire Kachirho village. The Wookiees responded by letting out cries of their own as they charged at the droids.

"What are you going to do, sir?" asked Commander Gree.

"I'm going down to the front lines," said the Doctor. "You have tactical command, Gree."

"Yes, sir," said Gree.

"Coming, Chewbacca? Tarfful?" asked the Doctor. The two Wookiees gleefully readied their bowcasters and ran down to the battlefield with the Doctor, who activated his lightsabers. His main saber hummed in perfect harmony with his shoto, and together, they were a formidable fighting force.

The Doctor slashed at droids relentlessly, joining in the great Battle of Kashyyyk with his men and the Wookiee warriors. Droids everywhere fell to his blades. He deflected blaster bolts with ease, utilizing his signature mix of the fourth and fifth forms of saber combat to its full effect.

All around him was chaos. The Turbo Tanks the Republic had brought them were making quick work of the ground forces, but they were also falling prey to the droid gunships, a relatively new addition to the Separatist arsenal. The Doctor had to find a way to take at least a few of them out so that their numbers wouldn't be a bane to the tanks.

He set a plan in motion. He jumped onto one of the tanks and started sending shockwaves with the Force to clusters of battle droids to draw attention to himself. A gunship almost instantly took notice of him and fired a missile at him, flying low. The Doctor deflected the missile with his left hand, sending it into another cluster of droids. He jumped at the gunship, catching its wing by impaling his lightsaber into it. The Doctor then climbed up on top of the gunship and cut a hole in the hull. Inside, he could see wiring controlling the gunship.

"Ooh!" he exclaimed. "That looks important!"

Naturally, the Doctor cut the wiring with his shoto. The gunship sparked, then ceased to function, its primary motivators severed. It came crashing down onto the beach, and the Doctor was thrown off the gunship. He recovered instantly, reigniting his lightsabers and cutting down more droids without breaking his stride.

Eventually, he met up with Chewbacca and Tarfful again. The two Wookiees looked to be enjoying themselves. Chewbacca and his bowcaster had shot down at least two dozen droids, while Tarfful had gotten three dozen with his. Standing back-to-back, the two Wookiees were formidable against the battle droids.

Joined by the Doctor and his whirling sabers, they were simply unbeatable.

The three warriors formed a triangle as the Doctor had done with Saesee Tiin and Ki-Adi-Mundi on Geonosis three years ago. Chewbacca and Tarfful covered the Doctor and each other perfectly, firing at droids that slipped past the clones and other Wookiees. The Doctor, meanwhile, had adopted full use of Shien, scrapping the acrobatics of Ataru for the moment in favor of a more centralized focus on deflecting blaster bolts. It wouldn't have mattered whether or not he used Ataru, but he wanted to defend Chewbacca and Tarfful as well as he could, and they were stationary. He had to be stationary as well, as much as it bored him.

After fighting for several minutes, the Doctor suddenly became aware of a pain in his head. It was dull at first, and he thought it was merely an aftereffect from the crash of the gunship. He pushed it away and kept fighting on. But then it resurfaced, stronger than before. The Doctor almost doubled over in pain. He dropped his lightsabers and held his hands to his head as the headache grew more and more prevalent inside.

"Doctor, are you okay?" the Doctor heard Chewbacca call to him. It sounded distant, even though he knew the Wookiee was standing right next to him.

"I need to go back to the command center," said the Doctor strainedly. "Take me to Commander Gree."

"Right away, Doctor," said Chewbacca, picking up the Doctor's discarded lightsabers.

"I'll cover you," said Tarfful as Chewbacca helped the Doctor to his feet and half-carried, half-dragged the Gallifreyan back to Commander Gree.

"What's wrong?" he asked quickly when he saw the Doctor in his state.

"I don't know," said the Doctor, although he might have been lying because he had an urgent and alarming sense of dread.

The Doctor got the feeling that dark plans were at work.

* * *

><p><strong>YAY! MOAR ORDER 66 BUILDUP! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter! It has Chewbacca in it. How could you not love it, because Chewbacca is awesome!<strong>

**So, I've finished this story already, but I made a few add-ons to it. These don't conflict with the main story, obviously, but it's just a little something I felt like writing down. It includes a timeline of events in the Doctor's life up until the end of Return of the Jedi, a roster of the New Jedi Order in this universe (which is still in the process of being finalized), a roster of major characters in the story, a list of chapters for all seven volumes (because I could), and an additional short story entitled "Return to the Temple." Now, FanFiction has a thing against posting lists as individual chapters, so I don't think I'd be allowed to post anything out of that little hodge-podge of content not called "Return to the Temple" as its own individual chapter or story. Of course, that's not going to stop me from putting it all on. I probably won't do the chapter list thing, as that's just for me, but you can bet that after this story is completely posted (as in Epilogue to RotJ is on this site), the rest of that little hodge-podge will be soon to follow. "Return to the Temple" will get its own entry onto the site, and that's meant to pretty much give a bit of closure to problems that two certain characters face (hint: one of them is the Doctor). The rest of it will be seen on my profile once the story is finished with regards to posting.**

**Alright, that's out of the way. Now, let's talk about Peter Capaldi.**

**I saw the newest episode of Series 8, entitled "Kill the Moon." Definitely one of the more heart-wrenching episodes of Series 8 by a good margin, especially toward the end of the episode. Clara gets emotional because the Doctor basically leaves her to her own devices about the choice for the central conflict of the episode (kill a baby hatching inside the Moon, which is also an egg, or let it hatch and watch what it does to humanity). She ends up making the right choice, but she feels insulted by the Doctor's constant patronizing of her and her species in general. She yells at the Doctor for a little bit, then...**

***SPOILER ALERT***

***SPOILER ALERT***

**...leaves the TARDIS entirely. It's an emotional and well-written scene, and I enjoyed it and the episode very much. The Doctor is once again alone, and I'm wondering how he will deal with that in the next episode.**

**Peter Capaldi, once again, kills it as the Twelfth Doctor. I'm still getting used to him, at least when my eyes aren't glued to the television screen. When they are glued to the television screen and I am seeing Peter Capaldi in action, I feel like I'm watching a really solid Doctor Who episode. I look at Capaldi, and I don't see the guy who replaced the Eleventh Doctor. I look at him, and I see the Twelfth Doctor, and that's an awesome feeling.**

**Next week: Even more Order 66 buildup.**

**I'm thinking about posting the next chapter on Thursday instead of my usual Friday. More details when I actually post the next chapter, but it'll make sense. Trust me on that.**

**Anyway, that about does it for this quite long author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	7. Warnings

Chapter Six: Warnings

The Doctor stood at the command center, looking out at the battle, or trying to, at least. The headache was getting worse and worse. The Doctor tried to push it out of his head, but it kept resurfacing, stronger than ever. Tarfful and Chewbacca occasionally glanced at each other in worry, but said nothing as the Doctor paced around the command center, rubbing his temples whenever he got a particularly bad wave of pain.

The Doctor had never in his life experienced pain like this except for regeneration, but if he had to compare it to something besides that, he would have compared it to the overwhelming sense of dread he had gotten when he had first sensed the Dark Side growing in power. He didn't know that it was the Sith making their move at the time, but he did now, and it worried him. It worried him because he was getting the same feeling again, only stronger this time than it had ever been before.

The Sith were on the move.

_Qui-Gon!_ called the Doctor. _What's happening?_

As before, no answer. The Doctor was frustrated once again. Why wasn't Qui-Gon contacting him? What could he do to stop his visions without the guidance of the Force?

Another stab of pain hit him, but it was different this time. He could hear sounds now. He heard the activation of lightsabers going off in his head. Four of them, right in a row. He could hear voices, although what they were saying was unknown to him. He thought he was going mad when he heard a fifth lightsaber ignite, this one much more evil-sounding than the first four.

_AAAAUUUUGH!_

A scream sounded off in the Doctor's head. He doubled over, gripping his head in pain.

"Sir!" cried Commander Gree as R3 trilled in worry.

"It's okay," said the Doctor breathlessly. "I'm alright. Just have a headache."

"It seems a bit worse than a headache, Doctor," said Tarfful.

"Would you like medical attention?" asked Chewbacca.

"No, thanks," said the Doctor, waving off the Wookiees. "I don't need it. It will pass with time. Just have to-AAARRGH!"

The Doctor was interrupted when another scream rang through his mind. This time it was more like a scream that someone makes when suffering a painful and violent death. The Doctor felt a stabbing pain in his abdomen, as if a blade had been forcibly shoved right through his stomach. An instant later, he felt another pain in his chest, as if it were cleaved open. Another scream, and this one was more like the second one than the first. It was a scream of death.

A few seconds passed by, during which time he heard the clash of lightsabers, but another pain in his stomach, this time a cleaving pain, shot through his body.

_AAAAUUGH! _came the scream, another of death. The Doctor once again doubled over in pain, causing Gree, R3, and the Wookiees alarm.

"Get a medic up here immediately!" shouted Gree into his helmet COM.

"I've got you, Doctor!" said Chewbacca, placing an arm around him and laying him down on the holotable, where the medic would examine him.

The medic, wearing the armor of a scout trooper, rushed over to the Doctor with his medical kit and blaster in each hand. He quickly set up his medical kit and began to examine the Doctor. He looked at him for a moment, then stopped.

"What is this?" asked the medic. "He's perfectly fine."

"Then why was he convulsing in pain just a moment ago?" asked Gree.

"I think I'm sensing something terrible, Commander," strained the Doctor. "Something's happening."

"What is it, sir?" asked Gree.

"I don't know, and that's what worries me," admitted the Doctor.

All of a sudden, he got the sense that he was being electrocuted with a painfully powerful blast. He began to convulse on the holotable, screaming in agony with a voice that didn't seem quite like his own. In fact, it reminded him a bit of Mace Windu's voice.

"Stabilize him! Now!" barked the medic, jumping into his duty of protecting the Doctor. Tarfful and Chewbacca used their immense strength to hold him down as the medic injected a calming tonic into the Doctor's system. The effects were not immediate. The Doctor still convulsed, although less rapidly than before. The medic injected another calming tonic into his system, and that seemed to work better on the Doctor. The Doctor's convulsions were half-hearted now, as if his body were trying to fight the injection and succumb to the lightning that he sensed was killing some poor person lightyears away. He felt as if he were going to regenerate if the pain continued.

Suddenly, almost as quickly as it had come, the pain stopped completely. The lightning had ceased. The Doctor was left with no pain whatsoever. It was as though the past few minutes had never happened. All the Doctor had left of those minutes was an empty feeling in his hearts. He sat up slowly and climbed off the holotable.

R3 trilled softly, asking the Doctor if he were okay.

"Yes, I'm fine, R3," replied the Doctor. "Thank you."

"I think it's a good idea that I stay here, sir," said the medic. "Just in case."

"I agree," said the Doctor. "Can't be too careful."

"My thoughts exactly, sir," said the medic.

The Doctor paced around the command center, holding his hands to his hearts, noting the empty feeling inside them. What could have caused that? Some sort of death, if the sounds he had been hearing were anything to go by. But who? The Doctor could only guess. The Force wasn't telling him anything.

The feeling of emptiness persisted in the Doctor's hearts. He leaned against a pillar holding the command center's treehouse roof over the floor. What was going on? Why did the Doctor feel so empty inside? Was it the doing of the Sith?

He got his answer through the most haunting visions he had ever experienced.

* * *

><p><strong>So, I completely forgot to post a chapter yesterday. I honestly don't even think it registered in my brain that I had said I would do that. So, I apologize for that. This is a really short chapter, too, and that's actually part of the reason I wanted to post this chapter and the next chapter on back-to-back days.<strong>

**See, here's the thing. The next chapter is the Order 66 chapter, wherein some Jedi get killed. We all know who they are, of course, and if you don't know for sure, you can probably venture a guess. So, I didn't want to leave you guys hanging for Order 66 with this really short chapter that's literally just barely a thousand words. So, I'll post the Order 66 chapter tomorrow morning sometime, and I won't be able to talk about the Doctor Who episode that will premiere tomorrow, as I am most likely going to miss it. That's kind of unfortunate, but them's the rules, as it were. Anyway, speaking of Doctor Who, let's talk about that!**

**Mummy On Orient Express. What an episode! In the narrative of the series thus far, the Doctor and Clara were planning one last trip in the TARDIS before she left for good. It just so happens to be a space replica of the Orient Express, which is haunted by a mummy that kills you in exactly 66 seconds. Shenanigans ensue, wherein Clara realizes that she still wants to travel with the Doctor. So, after talking on the mobile cellular telephonic device with one Mr. Danny Pink, she decides to stay on the TARDIS! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! This episode made me happy, not only because Clara is back onboard, but also because this is the first time we've really seen the Twelfth Doctor smile. He's nearly always frowning, so getting to see him that happy, even if it's only one time, was a great moment in a great series of Doctor Who. To be honest, that moment reminded me a little bit of Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor when he would get really happy for a moment.**

**Once again, Peter Capaldi kills it as the Twelfth Doctor. Great characterization for him in this episode. I especially love the part where he saved the would-be last victim of the Mummy in the episode. He didn't have to, but it was the only way he could defeat the Mummy and save as many lives as possible. He had to make tough choices, and I think Clara recognizes that he made a really tough call, but it worked out in the end. He's the Doctor, and he'll always find a way to save as many people as possible, no matter what.**

**So, yeah, great episode. Loved it. Can't wait for the next one.**

**Tomorrow: Execute Order 66.**

**And that's about it fr this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	8. Order 66

Chapter Seven: Order 66

_The Doctor did not, at first, know where he was. He could tell that he was definitely not on Kashyyyk. He looked around him and saw clone soldiers, but a lot of them bore the orange markings of the 212th Attack Battalion, not the green of the 41st Elite Corps under the command of Gree. These 212th clones were under the command of Commander Cody and Obi-Wan Kenobi, which told the Doctor that he was on Utapau._

_He looked to his right and saw Commander Cody and several other clones, along with an AT-TE that was firing on the Separatist stronghold that clearly served as their main base of operations. The clones, however, took no notice of him. In fact, one of them walked right through him. It was then that he became aware that this was not merely a vision, but an actual event that was happening right now. Usually, in his visions, the people in them were aware of his existence and avoided close contact with him. But here, they could apparently walk right through him and not even bat an eyelash._

_The Doctor walked up to Commander Cody and waved in his face._

"_Commander!" he shouted at Cody, but it was no use. The clone commander couldn't hear him. He didn't even know the Doctor was there._

_Something caught Cody's attention, and it caught the Doctor's as well. A cry of a beast had sounded behind them, and they both turned to see Obi-Wan Kenobi riding a varactyl, a lizard species native to Utapau. Obi-Wan's varactyl rode up to them, met halfway by Cody and the Doctor. The varactyl looked directly at the Doctor for a brief second, then looked away, pretending as though it had seen nothing._

"_Commander, contact your troops!" ordered Obi-Wan. "Tell your troops to move up to the higher levels of the city! I'm going for that holdout up there to clean up the mess that Grievous made of it!"_

"_Very good, sir," said Cody._

_Obi-Wan was about to leave when Cody stopped him._

"_Uh, sir?" he said. "I think you might be needing this."_

_Cody handed Obi-Wan his lightsaber, which he must have dropped at some point during the battle. The Doctor smirked at Obi-Wan, though he didn't see, and the Jedi Master smirked as well as he reclaimed the lightsaber._

"_Thank you, Cody," he said with a smile. "Now, let's get a move on! We have a battle to win!" He spurred the lizard into motion as Cody acknowledged the command._

_Almost as soon as Obi-Wan rode off to fight in the Separatist holdout, the Doctor heard a beeping noise coming from a communicator on Cody's belt. The Doctor watched the clone take it out and answer the call. The caller was a man in thick robes. His face was hidden from the Doctor's view, but his voice rang out clear as day for him and for Cody._

"_Commander Cody," said the man. "The time has come. Execute Order 66."_

_Cody's face was hidden by his helmet, but his body movements showed the Doctor everything. It looked as if a switch were flipping inside Cody's head._

"_Yes, my Lord," said Cody. He deactivated the connection and looked to Obi-Wan, who was still riding towards the Separatist holdout, unaware of what had just happened._

_Meanwhile, the Doctor was left wondering what Order 66 was and who had the authorization to order it to the clones. Unfortunately, he soon got his answer._

_Cody turned to the AT-TE and barked, "Blast him!" The AT-TE immediately responded by firing its main cannon at Obi-Wan Kenobi._

"_No!" cried the Doctor, although nobody could hear him._

_The blast impacted with part of the rock face that was nearest to Obi-Wan and the lizard. The explosion resulting was enough to unbalance the lizard and send it and Obi-Wan tumbling down the sinkhole into the lake below._

_The Doctor ran out to the edge of the cliff overlooking the fall, and he saw two splashes of water hundreds of feet below him. Obi-Wan and the lizard had fallen into the lake. As the vision faded to black, the Doctor was left wondering just what in the Force he had witnessed._

* * *

><p><em>As soon as the Doctor's vision of Utapau went completely black, he immediately found himself standing on a snow-capped bridge. He looked around and saw holes in the floor of the bridge and debris immediately surrounding many of the edges. He saw lasers everywhere, blue and red, flying across the battlefield at lightning speed. He looked out and saw tall towers, the levels of which were quite bulbous. He immediately recognized the planet as Mygeeto, which meant that he might see Ki-Adi-Mundi in this vision.<em>

_He heard a lightsaber deflecting blaster bolts to his right, and he stepped out from behind the debris to see Ki-Adi-Mundi rushing towards him, lightsaber flashing wildly around him as he deflected bolt after bolt. As with the clone trooper on Utapau, Ki-Adi-Mundi ran right through the Doctor, unaware that he was even watching._

_Lagging a few meters behind the Cerean, the Doctor could see Master Mundi's clone commander, Commander Bacara, nod his head once, as if acknowledging an order, then nod to his men. The men ran up to Ki-Adi-Mundi, which he took for running to fight the droids._

"_Come on!" called Ki-Adi-Mundi, raising his lightsaber above his head and rushing at the droids._

_But the clones didn't follow Ki-Adi-Mundi's order. Instead, they stopped in their tracks and raised their weapons at the Jedi Master. Master Mundi turned around, a look of shock dawning on his face. The Doctor could see it. He had been betrayed by his own men, and he had realized it too late._

_The Doctor watched in horror as Bacara and the Galactic Marines opened fire on their own Jedi General. Mundi, still shocked, barely got his lightsaber up in time to deflect the first few bolts. They were sent flying around the battlefield, and some of them even managed to hit the Galactic Marines. Two of them went down as Ki-Adi-Mundi scrambled to keep up his defense._

_In the end, it wasn't enough._

_As soon as the first bolt impacted with the Cerean's stomach, the Doctor knew it was over. Ki-Adi-Mundi was unbalanced by the shot, allowing Bacara and the remaining Marines to shoot him at least six more times. His lightsaber flew out of his hands as he flailed around, then fell to the ground, dead._

_The Doctor looked at the sight of his dead friend and grew angry and despaired all at the same time. As Mygeeto faded to black, he realized what Order 66 had meant._

_It meant the extermination of Jedi._

* * *

><p><em>The Doctor found himself on a hangar bay of a Venator-class Republic ship. He wasn't on any planet, but he saw the yellow markings identifying members of the 327th Star Corps. It told him that this ship was orbiting the fungus planet of Felucia, which meant that the clones would turn on Saesee Tiin next.<em>

_The Doctor saw the Iktotchi fiddling with his Eta-2 starfighter. He always did like to work on that ship when not working on his personal ship, the _Sharp Spiral_, which was still on Coruscant._

_Saesee's astromech droid trilled in fright when it saw something that scared it._

"_What is it, R3?" asked the Iktotchi. The astromech trilled again, looking behind Saesee at the something that had scared it. The Doctor and Saesee both turned to see Commander Bly and a few of the 327th strolling up to Saesee, weapons in hand._

"_What's the meaning of this, boys?" asked Saesee, his hand floating centimeters away from his lightsaber. Bly and the others said nothing, instead raising their blasters at Saesee Tiin._

_The green blade ignited, and the blaster bolts volleyed towards Saesee. The Iktotchi did his best to deflect them, and the Doctor cheered him on._

"_Come on, Saesee!" he urged. "You can survive this!"_

_Saesee was fast, but more clones joined the fray when they saw what was happening. Instead of running to Saesee's side as they should have, they instead joined Bly in shooting at him. Saesee's defenses were wearing down quickly, and the Doctor could do nothing to help his friend as the bolts slipped past Saesee's lightsaber and entered his body. Master Tiin's body was riddled with bolts, and he was launched over his fighter by the sheer force of the bolts. Saesee Tiin was dead, and the Doctor despaired even more. The empty feeling he had sensed earlier was growing bigger and bigger with each passing moment._

_The Jedi Order was being systematically eradicated._

* * *

><p><em>The sight of Saesee Tiin's dead body slumped over the side of his fighter faded away. Soon, the Doctor found himself flying through the sky of a mountainous planet with cities hanging from the different mountains like hammocks. Cato Neimoidia. Plo Koon was here.<em>

_He spotted three fighters flying through the cities; two ARC-170's and a Delta-7 belonging to Master Plo Koon. The Doctor realized what was about to happen and flew as fast as he could to Plo's starfighter._

"_Plo!" he shouted. "Get clear of your clones!"_

_It was no use. Plo Koon could not hear him._

_The two ARC-170's continued to fly behind Plo's Delta-7 and the Doctor. The Doctor didn't notice anything strange happening with them. Maybe they weren't following the order. The Doctor could only hope that their communicators were broken._

_Unfortunately, he was mistaken._

_The ARC fighters pulled back a little, and the Doctor knew what was coming, even if Plo didn't. He could see the Kel Dor flying along as if nothing were out of the ordinary. And it was true that nothing seemed out of the ordinary until the ARC-170s began firing on Plo's starfighter._

_Plo looked back to see what was happening, but it was already too late for him. The clones didn't give him enough time to get away, and his starboard engine was hit. The fighter began to spiral out of control, heading on a collision course with a nearby building._

"_PLO!" the Doctor shouted at the top of his lungs as Plo spun around and around. A great explosion erupted from Plo's damaged engine, sending him hurtling even faster into the building. The sound of metal impacting infrastructure rang in the Doctor's ears as Plo Koon's body was completely incinerated by the blast that claimed him, his droid, and his fighter. The Doctor couldn't look. He knew that there would be nothing left of his friend._

_The Doctor could only watch in despair as Plo's former wingmates-turned-traitors flew off, not even looking back at their General's remains._

_But nothing could have prepared the Doctor for what came next._

* * *

><p><em>The strange plant life that he saw after Cato Neimoidia faded away told him instantly that he was on Saleucami. A glance to his left showed the Doctor that he was about to watch Stass Allie die.<em>

"_NO!" he pleaded with the Force. "PLEASE, NO! LET HER LIVE! I'M BEGGING YOU! PLEASE!"_

_The Force would not listen. The Doctor watched in shock and terror as Commander Neyo placed a hand to his helmet, communicating with someone. That someone was, if the Doctor had anything to go by, the cloaked man who was authorizing Order 66._

_Neyo and his wingman pulled back behind Stass. She wasn't even aware of what was going on, just like Plo._

"_STASS!" cried the Doctor. "LOOK OUT!"_

_It was too late._

_Neyo and his wingman opened fire._

_Her speeder engines exploded._

_Her body was tossed through the foliage like a ragdoll._

_Stass Allie was dead._

_The Doctor went numb._

* * *

><p><strong>I'm going to be honest. This chapter was difficult to write, for obvious reasons. The Doctor's going to be in some pretty serious emotional pain for a while. It's heavy stuff. Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea for the Doctor to actually see Order 66 happening, at least for these five Jedi in the chapter. I wrote it in italics as a sort of style choice, like he's there, but he's not, you know? That's what I was going for, anyway. Hopefully,<strong>

**As I said yesterday, I'm going to miss tonight's episode of Doctor Who due to some plans I have going on at the time, but I will certainly have watched the episode by the time I post the next chapter next Friday.**

**Speaking of which, next Friday: Operation: Knightfall begins, and we are introduced to a brand new character.**

**And that's about it for this rather short author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	9. Knightfall

Chapter Eight: Knightfall

Jennara Oswin rubbed her head in slight pain. She could sense a distant emptiness in the Force. Something was disturbing it, and Jennara could feel it, or at least the aftereffects of it. Something terrible was happening somewhere, but where exactly, she could not pinpoint.

"Are you alright, my young Padawan?" asked her Master, Coleman Kcaj. Master Kcaj had taken Jennara as his Padawan only seven months ago, but she was already learning more from him than she ever could in a boring old classroom.

"Yes, Master," she said, her girlish voice contrasting sharply with Master Kcaj's deep, imposing voice.

The Ongree's inverted face looked at her with a bit of worry. Jennara, despite being only eight years old, knew for a fact that he could see right through her.

"Are you being entirely truthful with me?" he asked.

"I thought I sensed something, Master," admitted Jennara sheepishly. "Something's happening."

"I do not sense anything," said Master Kcaj. "Jennara, you are truly gifted in the ways of the Force, but you are still young. Younger than most Padawans. You have not yet learned to sort out the major disturbances of the Force from the more trivial ones."

"Will I?" asked Jennara, looking up at her Master.

"With time, yes," said Master Kcaj, smiling at Jennara. "Come. We must practice your saber techniques. Do you have your training saber?"

Jennara patted the training saber on her belt, smiled, and said, "Yep!"

"Then let us be off," said Master Kcaj. "The night may have fallen, but a Jedi's work is not always done when the sun goes down."

Gleefully, Jennara put the pain in her head out of her mind and skipped alongside Master Kcaj's long strides down one of the many hallways of the Temple. Jennara found it quite admirable that nobody ever got lost in them. She figured she would eventually learn these hallways and memorize them as she traversed them with her Master.

Jennara, having already pushed the pain totally out of her mind, was surprised to find that it had returned, a bit stronger this time. She clasped her forehead in her hands, willing for the pain to go away.

"Jennara?" asked Master Kcaj. "What's wrong?"

"My head, Master," said Jennara. "It hurts."

"You need some rest, Jennara," said Master Kcaj, taking her hand. "Come with me."

"Master, where are we going?" asked Jennara, her head hurting even more now.

"Back to your quarters," said Master Kcaj. "Come on."

"What's that noise?" asked Jennara. She had started to faintly recognize the sound of blasterfire inside the Temple. She wondered what was going on as Master Kcaj pulled her close and didn't let go.

"It's nothing," lied Master Kcaj. "Don't worry about it."

Even as the words escaped his lips, Master Kcaj had already drawn his lightsaber. Jennara looked at it with fear and trepidation. Anytime the otherwise peaceful Master Kcaj drew his lightsaber, Jennara knew there was trouble. Big trouble.

"I'd say we need to worry about it, Master," said Jennara as the two Jedi rounded the corner and entered Jennara's quarters.

"Stay here, Jennara," said Master Kcaj. "You'll be safe."

"But, Master-" began Jennara.

"Do as I say," ordered Master Kcaj, trying to keep his voice calm, but eyes brimming with fear. Jennara could sense it rolling off him in waves. He was terrified.

"Goodbye, Jennara," said Master Kcaj as he left his Padawan's quarters.

Jennara sat still on her bed for about a minute before she decided that she needed to go help her Master. If there were as much danger to the Jedi as he feared, then it was Jennara's duty to help as much an eight-year-old Padawan could.

Jennara grabbed her training saber and ignited it. The short, yellow blade slid slowly out of the hilt, and she opened the door to find the Temple in chaos. All through the hallway, Padawans, Knights, and Masters dashed to face some unknown enemy, and they seemed frightened, unprepared. Jennara snuck into their ranks, virtually undetected by the other Jedi, who were focusing solely on their enemy. She ran with them, her yellow lightsaber shining brightly in the night, and soon found herself looking upon a horrifying sight.

All of her life, Jennara Oswin thought that the clones were her friends. They were nice to her, and some of the more techno-savvy clones even showed her a few tricks on how to break through security systems. But now, she found that clones with blue accents on their armor were shooting at the Jedi and killing them. She saw the dead bodies of some of the Jedi and began to cry silently. Standing in the middle of the battleground, ignored by all sides, Jennara realized that she was a target to some of her friends, nothing more. Master Kcaj had been right. She was safer back in the quarters.

Jennara spotted her Master fighting bravely alongside Master Eeth Koth. The Ongree and the Zabrak were a beacon of hope for both Jennara and the other Jedi, rallying the others to fight back against the clones. They were courageous Jedi Masters, but even they had to fall this night.

Eeth Koth went down first. A blaster bolt impacted his stomach and sent him hurtling into the nearest wall, where more clones shot him mercilessly, tearing holes into his body. The clones shot him so much that the bolts eventually stopped impacting flesh and started impacting the wall behind him. Master Koth's green lightsaber deactivated for the last time, and Jennara watched in horror as Eeth Koth slumped to the floor, dead.

Coleman Kcaj, realizing that the others would soon follow in Master Koth's bloodied footsteps, called for a retreat.

"FALL BACK!" he shouted. "FALL BACK!"

He turned his head towards Jennara, and he saw her, yellow lightsaber in hand, ready to fight and die if necessary beside her Master. Master Kcaj, in his distraction, didn't see the clones coming up behind him.

"MASTER!" Jennara shrieked. "LOOK OUT!"

But it was too late for Coleman Kcaj. The clones had used the Ongree's distraction to shoot him just like they had shot Master Koth. Jennara screamed in terror as Coleman Kcaj fell to the ground, his lightsaber flying out of his hands. She screamed because she had watched her Master get brutally murdered right in front of her. She screamed because she could have done something about it.

She screamed because it was her fault.

Jennara ran for her life. She ran away from the clones, from her dead Master, from everything. Fear overtook her eight-year-old mind, and she ran away. Her lightsaber had deactivated in her hands, but she barely even noticed. She only focused on running.

_It's my fault_, she kept thinking to herself.

She ran down so many corridors, losing herself in the halls of the Temple, looking upon the bodies of dead Jedi, wondering where heroes like Anakin Skywalker were to protect the Jedi from this massacre.

_Master Kcaj is dead, and it's all my fault_.

She found a small room that would serve as a hideout for her. She quickly opened the door and rushed into the room, locking the door behind her and fusing the controls shut with her lightsaber. Her saber may only have been a training saber, but it still worked against a lot of metals, like the door controls.

_It's my fault!_

Angry and distraught, she chucked her saber at the wall as hard as she could. She curled up in the corner of the room, adopting a fetal position and rocking back and forth in a steady rhythm.

For the first time in a long time, Jennara Oswin began to weep.

* * *

><p><strong>Some pretty heavy stuff in this chapter. Not gonna lie. Writing the fall of the Jedi Temple from the point of view of a little kid was an interesting choice, if I do say so myself, and Jennara Oswin goes through a lot. I wanted to include Operation: Knightfall in this story, as it's such an integral part of Episode III's plotline, but as the Doctor is on Kashyyyk at this point, I can't really do it from his perspective. I actually had it in my head for a while before I wrote it that I would use this chapter to introduce the character of Jennara Oswin (this universe's Clara) into the story. She'll come into play a little later, but here's her intro to tide you guys until the Doctor meets her for the first time.<strong>

**Also, I apologize for this unacceptable lateness. I was unable to access my files on Friday, as I was visiting my father for the day, and it just completely slipped my mind that I needed to post. So, I apologize for this lapse in updating, as well as any future lapses that may or may not occur for the remainder of this story.**

**Now, to business. Remember that extra stuff that I said I was going to post, including a timeline of the Doctor's life, a New Jedi Order roster, and a list of major characters? Well, I've decided to write a little something extra to go along with that, called "Adventures of the Doctor." It's going to be written as though the Eleventh Doctor were writing it for his students in the New Jedi Order, so there will be plenty of I's and we's and you's and all that good stuff that comes from writing in the first person. Basically, what it entails is one chapter per Doctor, with the exception of the Eleventh because he's "writing" the whole thing. So, it'll have ten chapters, each one detailing a different point in the Doctor's life. Example: The First Doctor's chapter will be a short one about his promotion to the Council, while the Second Doctor's chapter will be a longer one about the first time he visited Gallifrey and fought in a battle there. I've got several more of each Doctor's stories planned out, including a full-on encounter with the Master for Number Three, and that gosh-darn terentatek fight that I so casually mention several times throughout the main story. Speaking of which, terminology I will use to clear things up. When I say "main story," I refer to the six films and TCW. When I say something along the lines of "extra stuff," I refer, most likely, to AotD. Got it? Good.**

**Which episode of Series 8 am I supposed to talk about? I don't really remember. Let's just say that whichever one it is was awesome (because it was) and move on. I'll resume discussion of Series 8 not in the next chapter, but the one after.**

**This Friday: The Doctor escapes Kashyyyk and tries to regroup with surviving Jedi.**

**Well, that's about it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	10. Regrouping

Chapter Nine: Regrouping

When the Doctor's consciousness returned him to his real body on Kashyyyk, he realized that he was in tears. All around the galaxy, Jedi were being gunned down by their clone troopers. The Doctor could sense it. The Jedi Order was rapidly being killed off.

He had watched a few of them die. Obi-Wan. Ki-Adi-Mundi. Saesee. Plo.

Stass.

The Doctor fell to his knees, letting the tears flow forth.

_Doctor, I..._came the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn in his head. _I'm so sorry_. All at once, the Doctor grew from distraught to furious.

_Where the hell were you?!_ he roared at Qui-Gon. _We could have stopped this together._

_No, Doctor_, said Qui-Gon. _There was no way to stop it. As I said on Dagobah, it has always been happening. It is a fixed point in the timeline of the universe. This must always happen._

_But why?_ asked the Doctor. _Why did they all have to die?_

_It is the will of the Force,_ answered Qui-Gon. _But do not despair, Doctor. Hope will rise, in a form that nobody could have expected._

_What do you mean?_

_You'll see. In the meantime, you may wish to turn your attention to the clone soldiers standing behind you._

The Doctor, all of a sudden, became acutely aware of the fact that the medic and Commander Gree were both standing behind him, blasters at the ready. They weren't getting him, too, not like the others. The Doctor would not die on Kashyyyk.

Lightning fast, the Doctor whirled around, main saber in hand and activated. Before the clones could even react, the Doctor's green blade had already decapitated them both. He felt a twinge of guilt in remembrance of Jango Fett, but he justified the act by telling himself it was self-defense as he deactivated his lightsaber and hooked it back onto his belt.

"What was that all about?!" cried Chewbacca.

"The Jedi have been betrayed," said the Doctor icilly. "Come on. We need to leave immediately."

Chewbacca, Tarfful, R3-K9, and the Doctor then all left the command center as quickly as possible, hoping that no other clones would spot them.

They managed to get clear of the village, which was entirely occupied by either clones or droids, and with the Kashyyyk expertise of Chewbacca and Tarfful, The Doctor and R3 were soon surrounded by dense foliage on all sides. R3 trilled in worry as night fell and they followed the Wookiees into the darkness.

"It's alright, R3," said the Doctor, trying to remain as calm as possible in the face of everything that had just happened. "We'll make it out."

R3 trilled, wondering where they were going.

"Yeah, where are we going?" asked the Doctor.

"There's a small shuttle deep within the forest that you and your droid can use to leave Kashyyyk," said Tarfful.

"How did it get there?" asked the Doctor.

"It crashed onto the planet, where Chewbacca and I found it and fixed it," explained Tarfful. "It should still be in working condition."

"Will the clones be expecting us?" asked the Doctor.

"I doubt it," answered Chewbacca. "Our fellow Wookiees would not give the shuttle's location away, and even if they did, your outsider clones would have a hard time understanding them without a translator."

"Right," said the Doctor. "Lead on, then."

Tarfful and Chewbacca continued to guide the Doctor and R3 through the forest. It was totally silent save for the crunching of leaves and twigs under the feet of the Wookiees and the Doctor, as well as the wheels of R3. As they walked, the Doctor felt the blackness of the night closing in around him, suffocating him. The Dark Side had defeated the Light, but not for good. The Doctor was sure that there were other Jedi who had survived the massacre. He just had to find them. Somehow. In a galaxy now filled with utter darkness, the Doctor had to find that one bright spot in the universe where a Jedi still lived.

The Doctor was brought out of his ruminations by the sound of mechanized movement. Tarfful and Chewbacca crouched low behind a large rock, and the Doctor and R3 followed suit as two AT-RTs bounded towards a crashed Wookiee catamaran that had been shot down by droids, yet managed to stay in the air until it got to the forest itself. The AT-RTs stopped just short of the catamaran, shining their headlamps upon the dead Wookiees inside.

"These Wookiees are dead," said one of the pilots.

"Good riddance," snorted the other. "Never could understand them anyway. Hey, did you hear they got Unduli?"

The Doctor seethed with rage as the clones laughed at the fact that Luminara Unduli had, like so many other Jedi throughout the galaxy, been betrayed and killed by her own soldiers.

"I heard the Doctor got away, though," said the first pilot.

"Yeah," sneered the other pilot. "Quick bastard got Gree and a medic before they could finish him. He Jango'd 'em."

"Sick old man," remarked the first pilot. "Let's move to the east."

"Roger," said the second pilot. "Wait a minute. I'm getting life signs over there."

The Doctor couldn't tell if the pilot had pointed or not, but if he had, he had most certainly pointed towards where he, the Wookiees, and R3 were hiding.

"Come on," said the first pilot. "Let's check it out."

The Doctor listened as the AT-RTs got closer and closer. Their footsteps grew louder and louder as the Doctor's brain raced for a plan. He could try to make an offensive on the one AT-RT, but that other one would present a problem, unless Chewbacca and Tarfful could take it out. There were too many variables. Too many things that could go wrong.

"IT'S HIS DROID!" shouted one of the pilots. The Doctor had barely noticed R3-K9 leave from his post behind the rock and distract the AT-RTs. He saw his chance and took it. While the AT-RTs were distracted, he jumped to the one closest to him as they both fired at R3. The Doctor heard a shrill shriek from his left, but paid no heed as he killed the first pilot and wrecked the systems of AT-RT with his lightsabers. Chewbacca and Tarfful took down the second AT-RT, Tarfful using his bowcaster to shoot down the pilot, Chewbacca using his bare hands to tear the AT-RT apart.

When both AT-RTs were destroyed, the Doctor looked to his left, to the spot where he had heard the shrill noise after the one AT-RT had fired its cannon. He saw it then. A mangled pile of wires mixed with pieces of the shell of an astromech droid.

"R3!" cried the Doctor.

He rushed over to the broken shell of R3, willing for him to still be active. Chewbacca and Tarfful joined him, looking down at the Doctor and his droid as the Gallifreyan kneeled next to R3. He picked up the headcase of the droid, which had been blown off by the laser blast. R3's head was charred and cracked, his photoreceptor a dark maroon color that indicated non-functionality. The rest of R3 was either jumbled wires, mangled pieces of plating, or incinerated completely by the blast. There was no mistaking it. R3-K9 was dead.

"You good droid," said the Doctor, tears in his eyes.

The Doctor placed R3's headcase up to his own forehead and held it there in somber remembrance of his faithful astromech. Realizing that R3 sacrificed himself so that he could get away, the Doctor stood, placing the broken headcase of R3-K9 on the ground with the rest of the astromech's destroyed form and left the forest with Chewbacca and Tarfful.

"I'm sorry about the droid, Doctor," said Chewbacca. "If there were anything I could have done to fix it-"

"No, it's alright, Chewbacca," said the Doctor. "There was nothing to be done. And R3 knew what he was doing. Let's just move on and get to the shuttle."

"Of course," said Chewbacca.

After several more minutes of silence and walking, the Doctor and the Wookiees reached the shuttle at last.

"There it is!" called Tarfful, pointing to it with a big clawed paw.

The Doctor, Tarfful, and Chewbacca all boarded the shuttle to prep the systems, a process made easier and faster with the three of them. When the shuttle was totally prepped for takeoff, Chewbacca and Tarfful left the shuttle, and the Doctor walked to the ramp to talk to them one last time.

"Well, boys, looks like this is it," said the Doctor.

"It would seem that way," said Tarfful.

"I should get going," said the Doctor warningly. "Those clones will be after me."

"We will keep them off your scent for as long as we can, Doctor," promised Tarfful.

"Thanks," replied the Doctor. "I'll miss you both."

"Who knows, Doctor? We may cross paths again," pointed out Chewbacca.

"We may," acknowledged the Gallifreyan. "Until then, may the Force be with you."

With that, the Doctor closed the shuttle ramp, turned on the shuttle's engines, and left Kashyyyk for good, leaving behind the forest landscape for the cold blackness of space.

Almost immediately, the Doctor began searching for any Jedi who might have been able to avoid the massacre. He put out a broadcast that would link him to any surviving Jedi in the galaxy.

"Emergency code nine-thirteen," announced the Doctor. "This is the Doctor speaking to any surviving Jedi Knights. My clone troopers turned on me, but I managed to escape. Does anyone read me?" The Doctor waited for a response, and he began to lose hope when none came after a few minutes. He tried again, repeating exactly what he had said before, and this time, he got a response.

"Do-tor," came the voice of a hologram that was trying desperately to focus itself on the shuttle's projector.

"Repeat, please," said the Doctor, eager to see who had received his signal.

"Doctor," called the hologram again, which focused itself to form the familiar Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan. Senator Organa was a friend of the Jedi, and he had been their supporter since the beginning, even going on peace missions in their stead during the Clone War. The Doctor trusted him with his life. Force, he trusted Bail Organa with two or three of his lives.

"Senator Organa," exclaimed the Doctor with a smile. "Good to hear your voice instead of a clone's. How did you pick up this signal?"

"I might have stolen the beacon receiver from the _Sharp Spiral_," admitted Organa sheepishly. The Doctor felt a wave of remorse as Organa spoke the words. The _Sharp Spiral_ once belonged to Saesee Tiin.

"I saw the Temple burning, Doctor," said Organa, drawing the Doctor out of his thoughts. "I went there to see what was going on, and the clones there pushed me back. I watched as a Padawan tried to fight his way through the clones to get to me, but they shot him dead. He was no more than twelve years old, and they killed him."

The Doctor could see that Organa was deeply upset by the death of the Padawan, whoever he was; the Senator had not identified him.

"I decided to find as many Jedi as I could to rescue them from this catastrophe," continued Organa. "I knew that at least a few Jedi would try to contact some of their brethren, and I knew that I could help by giving them protection from the clones if I could intercept their transmissions before the clones did. So, I stole the beacon receiver from the _Sharp Spiral_ in the Senate hangar. It will pick up any coded transmission from a Jedi."

"How many Jedi have you found, Senator?" asked the Doctor.

"So far, just you, Doctor," said Organa sadly. "But that doesn't mean there aren't more surviving Jedi out there."

"I hope you're right, Senator," said the Doctor softly. "I'm sending you my coordinates."

"I'll be there," said Organa.

The Doctor deactivated the link and sent Senator Organa the shuttle's current coordinates. He then shut all the systems down except for life support and the artificial gravity tethering him to the floor of the shuttle. He sat back and closed his eyes, thinking on all that had happened to him and the Jedi in the past few hours alone. They were dead. The Doctor could sense it. He sensed that maybe a few Jedi had escaped, like him, but many Jedi didn't even see it coming.

Stass hadn't seen it coming. Not until it was too late.

The Doctor realized now that the Clone War had blinded the Jedi to the machinations of the Dark Side. He was sure that Darth Sidious, whoever he was, had planned this from the beginning. Sidious had used the clones to kill the Jedi right under the nose of the Chancellor and the Republic. And he had succeeded. The Jedi had fallen. A few had surely survived, but Sidious would no doubt use the clones to hunt down the remaining Jedi after taking power from Chancellor Palpatine somehow.

As the Doctor wondered how Sidious would make his final moves, he also wondered who had survived the massacre. He wondered what had become of the Jedi on Coruscant. Mace, Shaak Ti, Kit, Coleman, Anakin, and so many others had all been on Coruscant at the time of the attack, so what had happened to them? He couldn't sense any of them in the Force, but that didn't mean anything. The Doctor had been emotionally compromised because of Order 66. His senses were naturally a bit off, but that didn't stop him from speculating what might have happened to his friends.

The sound of ship engines brought the Doctor out of his speculation and back into reality. A Corellian Corvette by the designation of the _Sundered Heart_ had hyperspaced right in front of the Doctor's shuttle. The Doctor could faintly sense the good will aboard the ship and knew that Senator Bail Organa was on board, ready to help. The Doctor restarted the engines and docked with the _Sundered Heart_'s small hangar bay on the ship's underside.

The door on the far side of the hangar bay opened to reveal Bail Organa running towards the shuttle. The Doctor disembarked, and a small smile appeared on Organa's face.

"It's good to see you, my friend," he said.

"Likewise," said the Doctor.

"What happened?" asked Bail as they walked through the hangar door and into a hallway.

"I don't quite know," admitted the Doctor. "But I do know that all around the galaxy, clone soldiers have been turning against their Jedi commanders and killing them."

"That would explain why I saw clones killing Jedi at the Temple," said Organa. "Something must have been triggered to turn them against the Jedi."

"It's called Order 66," explained the Doctor. "I don't exactly know who authorized it, or if anybody else has the power to authorize it, but whoever told them to do it had it out for the Jedi."

"Who do you think could do such a thing?" asked Bail.

"My best guess would be the Dark Lord of the Sith," said the Doctor. "But I don't think he has that kind of power over the clones. It doesn't add up."

"There's something else," said Organa.

"What is it?"

"We've received an open broadcast from the Jedi Temple," explained Bail. "It says that all Jedi should return to the Temple and that the war is over."

"We obviously can't follow it," said the Doctor.

"What should we do?" asked Organa, deferring to the Doctor's suggestions.

"We'll be patient," said the Doctor. "We'll wait for any other Jedi to contact us, then we'll make a plan."

"Good idea," said Senator Organa.

So they waited. The Doctor, Organa, and the crew of the _Sundered Heart_ waited for several hours for another transmission, but none came. The Doctor was starting to get impatient, his hearts racing, hoping beyond hope that he was not the last of the Jedi Order.

"Don't worry, Doctor," said Captain Raymus Antilles, commanding officer of the _Sundered Heart_. "I'm sure someone will contact us in time."

As if on cue, the beacon receiver Senator Organa had stolen from Saesee Tiin's prized starfighter started going off.

"At last!" the Doctor cried as Senator Organa tried to stabilize the signal. A voice that the Doctor recognized immediately filtered through the room.

"Emergency code nine-thirteen. This is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I have no contact on any frequency."

The Doctor could have leapt with joy. Obi-Wan had survived Order 66. The Doctor had thought him to be dead from that fall. Clearly, he had used the Force to decrease the blow of the impact. The Doctor smiled in delight as the hologram of Obi-Wan Kenobi came into focus.

"Master Kenobi," said Bail Organa when the hologram focused.

"Senator Organa," said Obi-Wan. "My clone troopers turned on me. I need help."

"We rescued the Doctor a few hours ago," said Bail. "He told us that this ambush has happened all over the galaxy. We're sending you our coordinates. We'll explain everything when you arrive."

Obi-Wan's hologram deactivated, and Captain Antilles sent the coordinates of the _Sundered Heart_ to the Jedi Master. Within an hour, Obi-Wan had arrived in a starfighter that belonged to General Grievous.

The Doctor and Senator Organa went out to meet with Obi-Wan, whose somber expression nearly broke the Doctor's hearts again. Overcome with joy at seeing his friend again, the Doctor wrapped Obi-Wan in a brotherly hug that the Jedi Master returned.

"I thought you were dead," said the Doctor.

"Yes, well, Commander Cody should have realized that he couldn't kill me that easily," said Obi-Wan sadly. "Although it seems the other clones didn't have a hard time."

The Doctor said nothing, merely bowing his head in solemnity as he, Obi-Wan, and Bail walked through another of the _Sundered Heart_'s narrow hallways.

"How many Jedi managed to survive?" said Obi-Wan.

"We haven't heard from anyone, but at a guess, I'd say maybe a hundred," said the Doctor.

"I wouldn't count on too many survivors of the Temple attack," interjected Bail. "I saw thousands of troops pouring into the Temple. That's why I went looking for Jedi across the galaxy to see if any had survived. So far, I've only heard from you two."

"Not even Anakin?" asked Obi-Wan, wondering, just as the Doctor had, what had become of his best friend.

"I don't know what happened to anybody," said the Doctor. "Even Anakin is hidden from me."

"Well, have we heard anything from the Temple?" asked Obi-Wan.

"We've received an open broadcast, yes," answered Bail. "It dictates that all surviving Jedi return to the Temple. It says that the war is over."

"Then we must go back to the Temple," Obi-Wan suggested immediately. "The clones have obviously perpetrated the signal as a trap. Any surviving Jedi will be caught and killed if they go in unprepared for what awaits."

"Are you suggesting that we dismantle the signal, Obi-Wan?" asked the Doctor.

"It is the only way, Doctor," said Obi-Wan. "The only way to save the lives of as many Jedi as we can. There is too much at stake here to let what remains of our fellow Jedi to be wiped out."

"I agree," said the Doctor. "And perhaps, we might learn more about our attackers."

"Very well," said Bail Organa. "I'll tell Captain Antilles to make heading for Coruscant."

The three men walked to the cockpit of the _Sundered Heart_, and they were soon off to Coruscant.

* * *

><p><strong>You can imagine that the Doctor will be both shocked and heartbroken to find out the truth about the attack. This chapter was a bit difficult to write because I had to maintain the idea that the Doctor, Obi-Wan, and Bail Organa have absolutely no idea what just happened, but it definitely makes sense. The audience might know what happened, but the characters don't. Keeping them in the dark is a bit challenging, but it makes for (in my opinion) a well-written story.<strong>

**A couple people have been asking me where the TARDIS is in the story. It's in the story. Trust me on that. It first appears in Episode IV as the freighter that the Doctor and Jennara travel on in the beginning, but it isn't officially named the _Tardis_ until Episode V. Also, there's going to be a _Tardis Mark II_ in the add-on story "Return to the Temple."**

**Also, you may be wondering why Yoda isn't anywhere in the story. I recently received a review that commented about Yoda's absence. This is because Yoda is switched out with the Doctor. Basically, Yoda=Doctor (sort of).**

**User Natalkeh asked if the Eleventh Doctor will travel with Luke. The answer to that question is yes. I will say no more on that subject.**

**Also, it's a bit late, and most of you won't probably read this chapter until November 1, but Happy Halloween, for those who celebrate it! I definitely dressed up as Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor today, and it was awesome!**

**Next Friday: The Doctor and Obi-Wan learn the truth and gain a friend along the way.**

**Well, that's about it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	11. Only Pain

Chapter Ten: Only Pain

The _Sundered Heart_ arrived at Coruscant swiftly. The Doctor and Obi-Wan were both silent along the way, contemplating their next moves, which involved getting into the Temple. It would be difficult because of all the clones there, but if anybody could find a way inside, it was the Doctor and Obi-Wan. The Doctor had faith, even if nobody else did.

"Senator, we're receiving a message from the Chancellor's office," reported Captain Antilles.

"Put it through," ordered Senator Organa.

"Yes, sir," acknowledged Antilles, who obeyed Organa's order.

Displayed on the viewscreen was Mas Amedda, the Chagrian Vice Chancellor who had been working with Palpatine since the beginning of his term. The Doctor shielded himself and Obi-Wan from Amedda's gaze with the Force, and the Chagrian addressed only Bail.

"Senator Organa," he said pompously. "The Supreme Chancellor requests your presence at a special session of Congress for a glorious announcement."

"I will be there," said Bail, who, the Doctor noted, was keeping as straight a face as possible.

"You will be expected."

Amedda's face disappeared from the viewscreen, and the Doctor let down his shielding as Bail turned to him and Obi-Wan.

"It could be a trap to destroy the Senate," said Bail.

"No, I don't think so," said Obi-Wan. "The Chancellor cannot keep control of the Republic's systems without also keeping the Senate intact."

"You can probably expect clone guards to be there on the lookout for Jedi stragglers," inferred the Doctor. "That's going to make it easier for us to get into the Temple."

"Agreed," said Bail. "Captain, touch down at the Senate building."

"Yes, sir," said Antilles.

The _Sundered Heart_ landed at its spot in the shipyard at the Senate building, and the Doctor and Obi-Wan sneaked off the ship using a back way while Bail and his entourage used the main entrance. The two Jedi put the hoods on their cloaks up so as to look inconspicuous amidst the masses of Coruscant. They both figured that clones would be watching for Jedi, so they had to appear almost nonexistent. The Doctor decided to use his shielding ability again, just for good measure. The clones wouldn't know they were even there.

The Doctor and Obi-Wan journeyed through Coruscant on the way to the Jedi Temple. All around, people looked at the Jedi Temple, saw that it was burning, and were afraid. They wondered what had become of the Jedi, who had attacked them, and why there were so many clones around looking for Jedi. The Doctor could sense the anxiety of the people as they crowded around various large screens in anticipation of Chancellor Palpatine's big announcement.

"Come on," said the Doctor. "Might want to catch a little of Palpatine's big announcement, especially if it has something to do with the Jedi and what happened to them."

"Agreed," said Obi-Wan.

The two Jedi joined the throng around one of the viewscreens as the HoloNet reporter came on to announce one of the most anticipated programs in the galaxy.

"Welcome to a Special Inaugural Edition of the Republic HoloNet," said the reporter. "I'm Tetra Alum. Today, we have a special session of the Senate going on live, in which Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is set to make an announcement regarding the Clone War. We go inside the Senate Rotunda, where the Senators are clamboring to hear the Supreme Chancellor's announcement."

The viewscreen switched from Tetra Alum to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who looked to be quite scarred from something, but what? The people were asking what had happened to the Chancellor, why his face looked so deformed. Obi-Wan and the Doctor shared a glance, but kept watching as Palpatine began to speak.

"Citizens of the civilized galaxy," his voice boomed with such authority that even the Doctor was impressed by how quickly everyone fell silent. But something was familiar about it. It was the familiar feeling that caused the Doctor's stomach to turn. "On this day, we mark a transition. For millennia, the Republic stood as the crowning achievement of civilized beings. But there were those who would set us against one another, and we took up arms to defend our way of life against the Separatists. In so doing, we never suspected that the greatest threat came from within."

The Doctor and Obi-Wan looked at each other in confusion. What was the Chancellor saying? Who was the enemy? What had happened to the Chancellor?

"The Jedi, and some within our own Senate, conspired to create the shadow of Separatism using one of their own as the enemy's leader. They had hoped to grind the Republic to ruin. But the hatred in their hearts could not be hidden forever. At last, there came a day when our enemies showed their true natures."

The skepticism and wariness of the crowd turned into hostility and even anger as they realized what the Chancellor was saying. He was blaming the Jedi for the Clone War. The Doctor and Obi-Wan glanced at each other in worry. The Chancellor's accusations didn't add up.

"The Jedi hoped to unleash their destructive power against the Republic by assassinating the head of government and usurping control of the clone army."

Cries of "NO!" and "DOWN WITH THE JEDI!" sounded out amid the crowd.

"But the aims of the would-be tyrants were valiantly opposed by those without elitist, dangerous powers," continued Palpatine. "Our loyal clone troopers contained the insurrection within the Jedi Temple and quelled uprisings on a thousand worlds!"

The Senators and the crowds cried out in victory. The Doctor and Obi-Wan remained silent and statuesque as Palpatine fed fire to the crowd's growing jubilance. The two Jedi were not happy at all. It seemed that Palpatine himself had ordered the strike on the Jedi. If he had authorized Order 66, then that meant...

No. It couldn't be! And yet, it made sense. The Doctor needed confirmation of his theory, but if he were right...

"The war is over!" announced Palpatine. "The Separatists have been defeated, and the Jedi rebellion has been foiled! The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated! Any collaborators will suffer the same fate!"

Cheers rose up from the crowd and the Senate as Palpatine spoke his proclamations. The Doctor feared for Senator Organa, who had smuggled him and Obi-Wan into Coruscant in the first place, and for Padme Amidala, who had been an ally of the Jedi since the Naboo crisis.

"These have been trying times," said Palpatine sympathetically. "But we have passed the test. The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed. But I assure you my resolve has never been stronger!"

More cheers. The Doctor had just about had enough of the announcement when Palpatine made a very bold announcement, as if his accusations against the Jedi weren't bold enough.

"We stand on the threshold of a new beginning," he said. "In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society!"

The loudest cheers the Doctor had ever heard erupted like lava from an active volcano. The crowd was literally screaming in delight, and the Doctor and Obi-Wan both received hugs from random strangers who were crying from joy.

"Come on," said the Doctor discreetly to Obi-Wan. "We've seen enough."

"Doctor, I..." Obi-Wan trailed off.

"What?"

"I thought for a moment that-"

"I sensed it, too," said the Doctor, knowing that Obi-Wan was talking about Palpatine. "Hopefully, the Jedi Temple will offer more answers."

The two Jedi Masters walked off towards the Jedi Temple, which was still billowing a great plume of smoke from the center where fire no doubt burned through the night. Questions raged in the Doctor's head, but one in particular dominated. Who was Palpatine? The Doctor had a pretty good guess of who the Chancellor really was, but he wasn't one hundred percent sure. He needed concrete proof. He didn't know where to get it at the Jedi Temple, but his instincts told him his answers would be there, in addition to the signal they had to deactivate. That was where they would go.

After a long walk, the Doctor and Obi-Wan finally reached the Jedi Temple, where they could see clones of the 501st Legion patrolling around the perimeter, though there weren't as many as there would have been had the Doctor and Obi-Wan arrived at another time. The 501st was Anakin's legion, and the Doctor's hearts sank. Even the Chosen One's own troops had turned against him.

"I see them, too," said Obi-Wan. "The 501st. What could it mean, Doctor?"

"It means that even Anakin might have fallen to the clone attack," replied the Doctor.

"How?" asked Obi-Wan. "It just doesn't seem possible."

"Another question that the Temple might answer," said the Doctor as he put the hood of his cloak down. One of the clones immediately took notice of the Doctor and rallied the others.

"Jedi!" he called. "Get them!"

The Doctor and Obi-Wan retrieved their lightsabers from their belts and quickly began cutting down the clones. The Doctor's Ataru-Shien mix proved invincible against them, and they fell to his blades with ease.

"Keep away from the Doctor!" called one of the clones. The Doctor responded by getting closer to that specific clone and cutting off his entire right arm with his main saber. The Gallifreyan was reminded vaguely of a certain brutish Zabrak Sith as he threw his shoto into the chest of another clone, felling him instantly. He retrieved his shoto and quickly deflected more blasts as the number of clones dwindled significantly, while Obi-Wan and the Doctor showed no signs of fatigue.

Finally, the last of the clones fell to the Jedi blades. The Doctor deactivated his and reviewed the carnage with Obi-Wan. The bodies were clone, mostly the ones they had killed just then, but the Doctor spotted a few clones who looked to have been lying there for a number of hours before the Doctor and Obi-Wan arrived. He saw a few Jedi bodies as well, fellow comrades of his who didn't quite make it out of the Temple, although they had come close. A few of their eyes were open, so the Doctor went to each of them and reverently shut their eyes, allowing them to sleep their way into the Force, so to speak. Obi-Wan stood at the Temple entrance, hood up in solemnity, waiting for the Grand Master to be finished.

"Let's go," said the Doctor when he closed the eyes of the last Jedi body.

Obi-Wan and the Doctor were greeted with a haunting sight. In the main hall of the Temple, the bodies of dozens of Jedi were littered about, cast away like old toys, the owners of which had no need for them. There were clone bodies, too, but the bodies of the Jedi severely outnumbered the bodies of the clones. The Doctor was horrified, haunted, and sickened all at the same time. To see so many bodies of so many of his friends made the Doctor want to vomit. He kept his emotions in control, though only barely, and the nervous glances from Obi-Wan told him that he was already starting to radiate anger.

The two Jedi Masters walked through the Temple, observing all the bodies they found. The Doctor recognized every single one of them, and it broke his hearts. All of these Jedi, cut down before their time. It was a massacre. It was genocide. It was...The Doctor didn't have any other words to describe the horrific images that plagued his mind at this very moment. It was truly awful what had happened here, and the Doctor and Obi-Wan were going to find out the truth.

They ascended a staircase and came across an even more horrific sight than the main hall. Instead of the bodies of Jedi Knights and Masters, there were the bodies of dead Jedi children. Kids who were no more than nine years old had been cut down just as mercilessly as their older brethren had. But something was different about these bodies. What was it?

"Not even the Younglings survived," said Obi-Wan, his voice breaking. "The clones were without compromise in their killing."

"No," said the Doctor, realizing what was different about the bodies. "These...children...weren't killed by clones. Look at the scorch marks on their robes. They look like slashes. No blaster could have done that. This was done by a lightsaber."

"Who could have done this?" asked Obi-Wan. "Sidious?"

"I don't know," said the Doctor. "But I think we'll find out. Come on."

They journeyed down another series of hallways until they came across another point at which a Jedi stand had taken place. More dead Jedi littered the halls, among them Jedi Masters Eeth Koth and Coleman Kcaj. The Doctor knelt by Eeth Koth and observed the hole carved in the Zabrak's stomach by the multitude of blaster bolts the clones had shot into him. Obi-Wan visibly gagged, and the Doctor had to turn away, unwilling to stare into Eeth Koth's cold, unseeing eyes any longer. Instead, he gazed into the dead face of Coleman Kcaj, remembering that he had seen him in his visions. He had told him to protect someone, his Padawan. But his Padawan was nowhere to be found. The Doctor looked around, but saw not a single Jedi even resembling her.

He could faintly remember Coleman Kcaj's Padawan. He had only met her once or twice, and she had ascended quickly to the rank of Padawan when she met with Coleman Kcaj, who had decided that she was gifted in the Force and decided to be the one to train her. If memory served him correctly, her name was Jennara Oswin. But what good would memory do if she were already dead?

The Doctor stood and began to walk away from Coleman Kcaj's body. He took two steps, then felt a strange sensation that almost caused him to double over. But the sensation was a good strange, one that he wanted to have. Instead of sensing death amidst life, the Doctor was sensing life amidst death. There was a Jedi still here, and that Jedi was still alive!

"Doctor?" asked Obi-Wan. "What's the matter?"

"There's someone here," said the Doctor excitedly. "Jedi. Alive."

"Anakin?" asked Obi-Wan, hopeful at the thought of seeing his best friend again..

"I don't know," answered the Doctor. "I've got to find out."

The Doctor bent over the spot where he had felt the life. He sniffed the floor where he had felt the sensation, and Obi-Wan stood by, curiously watching the Doctor.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Something traumatic was seen by a Jedi standing right here," said the Doctor, placing his feet on the indicated spot. "Judging by the bodies, I imagine that this Jedi saw one of the others die. Someone close to them died, and they saw it."

"What does that tell us?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Everything," said the Doctor, on a roll. "At this spot, there was a trauma experienced, a fear felt, and it overcame whoever was standing here. They ran. What do people run away from the most? Things they don't understand. Any Jedi understands that death is a part of life, but what if you were very young? You wouldn't quite understand what was going on, would you?"

"I suppose not," said Obi-Wan.

"So, we can assume that the Jedi standing here is a child," continued the Doctor. "And a very young human female child."

"How did you manage that?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Simple. I can sense that the feet of the child are human feet, or at least a very good Clawdite. Secondly, the way she carries herself, the size of her feet compared to human males around her age, would indicate that she is female, and we've already established that she's a child, so that's all taken care of."

"So, she's a Padawan."

"That's right. And a very young one at that. No more than eight, I'd say. And what would traumatize a young Padawan most?"

"The death of his or her Master." Obi-Wan hung his head just a fraction in sadness. He knew the pain of having his Master die in front of him.

"That's right. Who do we know here who has a young Padawan?"

"Master Kcaj," Obi-Wan guessed instantly. "You think the child is his Padawan?"

"I do," said the Doctor. "Come on. We've got to find her."

"But what about-"

"I promise we will look for Anakin once we find Coleman's Padawan," interrupted the Doctor. "Now come on!"

The two Jedi Masters ran through the Temple halls, the Doctor using the Force to follow Jennara's erratic and improvised route. He couldn't blame her for running such a route. She must have been scared out of her mind. Plus, she was only eight. Any child that young, Jedi or not, would have run from something like the scene the Doctor and Obi-Wan just emerged from. The Doctor empathized with Jennara for that.

The Doctor ran and ran until he felt the sense of life he had sensed when crossing Jennara's footprints reach a climax around a small door. He stopped abruptly, and Obi-Wan asked why he had done so.

"In here," said the Doctor. "She's in here."

The Doctor tried to open the door, but found that it was locked from the inside. He banged on the door, hoping to get Jennara's attention.

"Jennara!" he called. "Jennara Oswin! Are you in there?"

The Doctor heard a scream of childlike terror, mixed with various unintelligible syllables, one of which sounded like "clones."

"She thinks we're clones," said Obi-Wan.

"We're not clones, Jennara, I promise you!" said the Doctor. "Open the door!"

This time, the Doctor heard nothing. Thinking quickly, he activated his main saber and plunged it into the door, cutting a perfect circle through the door. He and Obi-Wan stepped through the door and found Jennara Oswin huddled in a corner, panic-stricken.

At the sight of the two Jedi Masters, Jennara shrieked in fright and hid her face from them.

"No, no, no, it's okay," said the Doctor, bending down to her level. "We're not here to hurt you. We're here to help you."

Jennara tried to shy away from the Doctor and Obi-Wan, but she was already too huddled up to be able to significantly alter her balled form.

"I'm the Doctor. This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. We're survivors. Like you."

Jennara said nothing, but she looked at the Doctor and Obi-Wan in awe that they had survived just as she had. Clearly, she thought she was the only Jedi left.

"We're going to make sure that no Jedi comes back here for a long time," explained the Doctor. "There's a signal being transmitted that tells all remaining Jedi to return to the Temple."

Jennara made a shocked face, but again said nothing. The Doctor was beginning to wonder if she was mute, either from birth or because of the trauma she had experienced.

"It's a trap set by the clones," said Obi-Wan. "We're going to make sure that nobody falls into it. No more Jedi are dying here."

"Would you like to come with us?" asked the Doctor. "It's better than sitting here for the rest of your life, isn't it?"

Jennara took a quick glance at her surroundings, then nodded her head so vigorously that the Doctor was afraid it would accidentally fall off her body. She stood with the Jedi Masters, picked up her little training saber, and pulled both of them into a hug, gripping their legs with her tiny little arms. The Doctor and Obi-Wan smiled at her innocence and returned the hug before letting go.

"Now, Jennara, we need to get to the communications room so we can change that signal," said the Doctor.

With that, the three Jedi sped off towards the communications room. Along the way, the Doctor noticed that Obi-Wan was keeping an eye out for a sign, a whisper, anything pertaining to Anakin. He was adamant about at least finding out what had happened to his best friend in this catastrophe, if not finding him or his body. The Doctor hated to disappoint Obi-Wan and say that they might not find him, but the possibility of that being the case was high. They couldn't get their hopes up.

The Doctor, Obi-Wan, and Jennara reached the Temple's communications room, and found it in shambles. The clones were quite thorough when they had trashed the place. The only things that looked as though they could still properly function were the signal transmitter and the security hologram display. Other than that, the room was completely ransacked. There were no bodies in here, but the whole place reeked of the Dark Side nonetheless. It made the Doctor uneasy. He noticed Jennara and Obi-Wan both nervously looking around, as if they expected the Dark Lord of the Sith himself to make an appearance, and the Doctor almost believed that he would.

The Doctor got started on recalibrating the Temple signal. He extracted the node sending out the signal and began tinkering with it. Obi-Wan helped him out when he could, and Jennara watched the Doctor attentively, paying close attention to every minute detail the Doctor put into his work. It was simple work, really. All he had to do was change the signal's message. Utter cake. But Jennara looked wide-eyed at him and his work as if he were doing something magical, and she had this look about her that told him that she wanted to learn how to do that. The Doctor smiled at her attentiveness and stored the idea of teaching her into his memory as he continued the recalibration.

As he worked, the Doctor noticed Obi-Wan gaze shift longingly towards the security hologram projector. Both Jedi Masters knew that the answers to their questions of what exactly had happened here were laid out in front of them in the form of that projector, but it would break their hearts to watch it. The Doctor could sense that something truly disturbing was contained in those holograms, and he didn't particularly want to see it.

When he finished, he slid the node back in its compartment and sighed in relief.

"Done," he said. "The signal is recalibrated. Any surviving Jedi will now get a signal telling them to stay away."

"It'll take a while for the clones to figure out what we've done here," said Obi-Wan.

"By then, we'll be long gone," said the Doctor, grinning.

He took Jennara's hand and was about to lead her out of the Temple when Obi-Wan moved over to the security hologram projector.

"There is one more thing I need to discover, Doctor," said Obi-Wan as his hand hovered over the activation switch. "I need to know what happened to Anakin."

"If you're going into those holograms, you'll only find pain," warned the Doctor, but Obi-Wan didn't seem to listen. He pressed the activation button, and the holograms appeared. He skipped through most of the previous day's recordings, as he knew that the attack had come during the night.

Obi-Wan soon found what he was looking for. He now knew what happened to Anakin. The Doctor sighed in sadness as he watched three Jedi, including Jedi Battlemaster Cin Drallig, get utterly demolished by a younger, faster, stronger opponent, one who was truly gifted in the ways of the Force.

"It can't be," said Obi-Wan, not wanting to believe what was in front of his eyes. But the Doctor could confirm it, Jennara, too. The attacker was none other than Anakin Skywalker.

* * *

><p><strong>So, it occurred to me that I forgot to update on Friday again. I apologize for that. In order to counteract my notoriously spotty short-term memory, I have installed an alarm on my cell phone that will go off every Friday at 8:30 pm that will remind me to post. That should do the trick, I'm sure.<strong>

**Let's talk about that finale for a second. It was awesome! No other words can really describe it! If you haven't seen it yet, under what rock have you been living? Go see it! Can't wait for the Christmas special!**

**"Adventures of the Doctor" is proceeding slowly, but surely. I'm on the Fourth Doctor's story right now, which includes the planet of Bandomeer, a mining facility, and fear-inducing statues. Yep. Those guys. I have stories lined up for all the remaining Doctors, with the exception of the Seventh Doctor. Not too sure what I'm going to do with him, but I'll figure it out eventually.**

**Next Friday (and it actually will be Friday this time): The Jedi make their next move against the Sith, and the Doctor goes to confront Darth Sidious.**

**And that's about it for this (brief) author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	12. Sith Revealed

Chapter Eleven: Sith Revealed

"It can't be," repeated Obi-Wan.

The Doctor, Obi-Wan, and Jennara watched in stunned silence as Anakin Skywalker mowed down two Padawans and Master Drallig with ease. He choked one of the Padawans to death while slicing open the chest of the second and taking on Cin Drallig himself. As Anakin was just about to cut off Master Drallig's head, Obi-Wan skipped the recording randomly, not wanting to see any more killing on his best friend's part. It landed on a point where Anakin Skywalker was kneeling to an unknown figure. The figure strided before Anakin, looking rather pleased with the handiwork of Anakin and the clones. The Doctor fumed in anger as he recognized the figure.

It was Palpatine, dressed in the same robes as the man who had authorized Order 66, leading the Doctor to believe that Palpatine was the one who authorized Order 66 and the extermination of the Jedi Order.

"You have done well," congratulated a smiling Palpatine.

"Thank you, Lord Sidious," responded Anakin.

The Doctor's fist clenched in furious rage as he realized that the theory he had made while watching Palpatine's broadcast turned out to be right. Chancellor Palpatine and Darth Sidious were one and the same. He had fooled the entire Jedi Order with one hand while systematically destroying it with the other. And, of course, it all made sense. The suspicious feelings, sensing the Dark Side all around the Chancellor. Darth Sidious had not simply infiltrated the Chancellor's inner circle as he and Mace Windu had once predicted. Darth Sidious was the Chancellor, and now he was the Emperor. The Sith had taken over the galaxy and made it into an Empire, just as Darth Maul had said they would thirteen years ago on Naboo. The Doctor hadn't believed him, and he wished he had.

"Now, Lord Vader," said Sidious. "Go and bring peace to the galaxy."

Anakin Skywalker, now christened Darth Vader, rose before his new Sith Master. The two holograms disappeared when Obi-Wan shut off the projector.

"I can't watch any more," he said, his voice breaking.

The Doctor sighed in pain as he realized what the two of them had to do to restore order.

"We have to destroy the Sith," he said finally. "It's our only choice now."

"Send me to kill Darth Sidious," begged Obi-Wan. "I refuse to kill Anakin."

"No, Obi-Wan," said the Doctor. "You're not strong enough to fight Sidious. I don't know if any Jedi can fight him, but I believe that I stand the best chance. You have to kill Vader."

"He is like my brother!" cried Obi-Wan. "I cannot do it."

"He isn't your brother, not anymore," said the Doctor. "Anakin Skywalker has been twisted by the Dark Side. The boy you trained is gone. He has been consumed by Darth Vader. I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. I'm so sorry. But for the sake of the galaxy, Anakin must die."

"I don't know where the Emperor has sent him," said Obi-Wan, trying so desperately to find a way out of killing Anakin. "I don't know where to look."

"Use your feelings, Obi-Wan," said the Doctor. "You know him better than most people. Talk to someone he was close to. Maybe she knows where he went." The Doctor was, of course, talking about Padme Amidala, with whom Anakin had a definite connection. If anyone besides the Emperor knew where Vader went, it was her.

"As you wish," said Obi-Wan, knowing who the Doctor was talking about. Obi-Wan made his way out of the security room and out of the Temple to complete his mission.

Jennara tugged at the left sleeve of the Doctor's cloak. The Doctor looked at the girl and smiled softly as he bent down to her level to give her instructions.

"Jennara," said the Doctor. "Where I'm going is very dangerous. You can't come with me. But you can still help. Before I go, we're going to find Senator Bail Organa. Do you know who that is?"

Jennara nodded her head in affirmation of the question.

"I've got an escape plan, and it involves Senator Organa," explained the Doctor. "I need you to find him and tell him you've got a message from the Doctor. Just in case you're not ready to talk yet, I'll put it on a datapad, okay?"

Jennara nodded, and the Doctor used the Force to pull one of the surviving datapads in the security room to him. He wrote down his plan on the datapad, as well as the truth about Palpatine and instructions regarding Jennara's safety, and gave it to the young Padawan, then walked her out of the Temple. The Doctor thanked the Force that there were no clones around, so they could walk out of the Temple freely. Obi-Wan was nowhere in sight, so the Doctor figured he had also made it out just fine.

When they reached one of the streets near the Temple's entrance, the Doctor told Jennara to find Bail Organa. The Gallifreyan himself rested on a bench, cloaking himself to any passersby using the Force, where he would remain undisturbed until Bail Organa received his message.

While he sat on the bench, the Doctor flitted through his memories of the past couple of days. In that time, he had found out that the leader of the organization he had dedicated all his lives to serve had also been the leader of the organization that wanted his destruction. Nearly all of his closest friends had been betrayed and killed, including the woman he loved. And he was one of the survivors. At this realization, the Doctor felt a tremendous amount of guilt, as if he should have let Gree and the medic kill him permanently on Kashyyyk. All they would have had to do was keep shooting him while he attempted to regenerate, and he would have died.

But they didn't. The Doctor had survived when his friends had not. Why? That was an answer the Doctor didn't know. Perhaps the will of the Force had him on a different path. For a moment, he thought it might have been luck, but the Gallifreyan Jedi Master knew that there was no such thing. It had to be the Force telling him something. But what was it? He pondered the question all day and into the night, but came up with nothing. He still had nothing when he heard a beeping sound on his comlink.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Doctor, I have received the message," came the voice of Bail Organa. "I will do as you have instructed."

"Very good," said the Doctor. "I'll be in touch."

"May the Force be with you, Doctor."

The Doctor ceased communication with Senator Organa and stood. Knowing just what he was getting himself into, he put up the hood of his cloak and made his way to the Senate building, where the newly-appointed Emperor Palpatine was waiting.

He was careful to avoid any clone soldiers who might have been patrolling the streets of Coruscant looking for Jedi. They were the only thing stopping him from getting to the Emperor. As much as he cared for the clones during the war, he couldn't trust any of them now, not even his own ARC troopers. Captain Fordo and the Muunilinst Ten had fought in the Battle of Coruscant and, to the Doctor's knowledge, were still on the planet. If anyone would be able to recognize the Doctor through his cloak, it would have been Fordo and his men. The Doctor had to avoid them at all costs.

All around him, whispers of the Jedi's corruption spread around like wildfire. Sidious's lies about the Jedi had worked, and the people now openly despised them. It broke the Doctor's hearts, as, just a few days ago, the people of the galaxy had believed in the Jedi Order to be their protectors. It showed the kind of power Sidious had over them, a power that the Doctor had to extinguish. He had no other choice if he wanted to bring peace to the galaxy. Prophecy be damned, he and Obi-Wan would be the ones to bring balance and destroy the Sith, not Anakin, who seemed to have forsaken the Prophecy in favor of the Dark Side. The Doctor's righteous anger at the newly-named Darth Vader and his new Sith Master broiled as he reached the Senate building, wherein Darth Sidious, the real Darth Sidious, not the vision of Sidious he had experienced on Korriban, was hiding.

He entered the Senate building, incapacitating the blue-robed guards at the main entrance. He didn't kill them; he had no quarrel with the guards. They were only doing their job, protecting the man whom they thought to be a good and selfless leader. They couldn't be blamed for Sidious's evil, so the Doctor didn't blame them. Instead, he focused on getting Sidious's location through the Force. It wasn't terribly difficult. All he had to do was look for an abnormally strong presence in the Dark Side, and he soon found it in the office underneath the Grand Convocation Chamber. Sidious was there.

The Doctor followed the presence to its source, arriving in a hallway adjacent to the office. He could feel malevolent glee as he put down his hood and walked forward. Sidious thought the Jedi to be completely destroyed and that nothing could stand in his way. He was wrong. The Doctor and Obi-Wan were going to be hinges in his plan; this the Gallifreyan knew.

The Doctor walked into the office and stared at the man in the thick black robes sitting in the chair at the desk to his right.

At last, the Doctor and Darth Sidious were face-to-face.

* * *

><p><strong>WOOT! The Doctor and Darth Sidious are actually going to legit fight! WOOHOO! It's very exciting, and I can't wait to share it with you guys! In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was very fun to write indeed! For reasons having to do with schoolwork, I won't be responding to any PMs for the next few days, so if you contact me over the weekend and I don't write back until Monday, that would be why.<strong>

**"Adventures of the Doctor" is proceeding nicely, I'd say. I'm almost halfway finished, which is definitely good. I plan to have it finished by the end of 2014, so I am right on track to having that goal completed. Should be fun!**

**Anyway, that about does it for this rather short author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	13. The Doctor vs the Master

Chapter Twelve: The Doctor vs. the Master

There were three others in the office besides the Doctor and Sidious. There was Mas Amedda at the Sith Lord's side and two Red Guards on either side of the Doctor. The two Red Guards brandished their Force Pikes at the Doctor, but they barely even did that before the Doctor threw them against the wall with a quick wave of his hand. He didn't have time for their shenanigans. He only cared about bringing Sidious down.

The Red Guards crumpled to the floor as Sidious turned in his chair to face the Doctor. Mas Amedda looked at the Gallifreyan with worry in his blue eyes, but the yellow irises of Darth Sidious betrayed contempt and a hint of surprise.

"It's come to my attention that you've got a new protege, Emperor Palpatine," said the Doctor. "Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to call you by your real name, Darth Sidious?"

"Doctor," seethed Sidious, acidic surprise in his voice. "You survived."

"Is that surprise I detect in you, Sidious?" asked the Doctor sarcastically. "I'm insulted."

"You are arrogant, Doctor, and your arrogance blinds you," spat Sidious. "You have fought my apprentices, who were strong in their own right, but now you shall experience the true and full power of the Dark Side!"

By the time the Doctor realized it, it was too late. The Sith Lightning Sidious had thrown at him shot across the room and into his chest, sending him hurtling across the office and into the wall. He had completely forgotten about the lightning, and it stung even worse than it had in the vision.

"Leave us, Amedda!" barked Sidious. "I must deal with a Jedi."

"Yes, my Lord," said Mas Amedda.

Sidious cackled in glee as Amedda left the office. The Doctor could hear footsteps and figured that Sidious was moving towards him.

"I have waited a long time for this moment, my friend," said Sidious, cackling once more. The Doctor had been called "friend" by Sidious once before, on General Grievous's flagship, the _Invisible Hand_. Had he known that it was Sidious who had been speaking to him, not Chancellor Palpatine as he had once thought, he would have sent him out the airlock.

The Doctor stood, recovered from the lightning attack as Sidious's cackling died down.

"At last, the Jedi are no more!" he joyously cried out. "You have failed, Doctor! The Sith have won! We will rule the galaxy for the next ten thousand years and beyond!"

"The future isn't written yet," snarled the Doctor. "It's not yours to control. Not if I have anything to say about it!"

The Doctor gathered his power and sent Sidious flying across the room into the desk on the other side. The Sith Lord clambered up to his feet and looked at the Doctor with the same worry the Gallifreyan had seen on Mas Amedda's face.

"Your rule is at an end, Sidious," said the Doctor, adopting a fighting stance and moving his hands to his lightsabers. Sidious, seeking a way out of the inevitable duel, jumped to the door leading to the hallway, but the Doctor saw it coming and intercepted Sidious before he could leave.

"If you're as powerful as your title would suggest, then why would you be afraid of me?" asked the Doctor. "Why leave?"

"You will not stop the Sith, Doctor," snarled Sidious. "You may defeat me, but Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us."

"Your faith in your new apprentice is misplaced," boomed the Doctor, wishing Obi-Wan well on his mission to kill Vader. "Your faith in the Dark Side is also misplaced. You will never be able to defeat the Jedi. Not fully."

"We will see," said Sidious as he activated a red lightsaber with the same sickening humming sound the Doctor had heard in his vision on Korriban. The Doctor ignited his own lightsabers, the green main and blue shoto humming in perfect harmony with each other.

Darth Sidious raised his lightsaber against the Doctor, and the fight was on.

The Doctor found that the real Sidious was just as much of a master duelist as his vision counterpart. He kept switching between different forms, then switching back, all in an effort to defeat the Doctor. No matter how aggressive either combatant got, for the first few minutes of the duel, neither man seemed to be able to defeat the other. Sidious's form-switching and the Doctor's form-mixing were perfectly matched. Here they were, masters of the Force, duelling each other in epic fashion.

The Doctor flipped over Sidious's head onto the podium in the center of the office, then flipped back around to catch the blade Sidious had aimed at his chest. They held there for a moment, Sidious cackling once again, then the Doctor tried to strike at Sidious's midsection. The Sith Lord caught the Jedi Master's attack, but the Doctor was prepared for that inevitability. He spun around, whirling his lightsabers in an attempt to confuse Sidious and strike at his head. Both the main saber and the shoto were caught by Sidious's red blade, and Sidious himself cackled in delight.

"Oh, Doctor, this is too much fun!" he cried out in joy. "The last Jedi I killed wasn't nearly as much fun to fight as you are!"

"And who was the last Jedi you killed?" the Doctor asked, anger rising as Sidious's own form of Dun Möch penetrated his mental defenses.

"Mace Windu," Sidious simply said.

The Doctor lost all form of control. Sidious had directly killed one of his best friends, and he was responsible for the deaths of so many others. He had to be stopped before he killed any others.

The Doctor kicked Sidious into the podium and stabbed at him with both lightsabers. Sidious was quick enough to recover and move out of the way in mere milliseconds, and the Doctor's lightsaber blades sank into the base of the podium. Sidious struck at the Doctor while he was momentarily defenseless, but the Doctor removed his shoto and blocked the killing blow just in time. His main saber followed suit and struck at Sidious's neck with a ferocity rarely exhibited by the Gallifreyan.

"Your rage is unbalancing you, Doctor," taunted Sidious. "That's not the way of the Jedi."

The Doctor took a moment to calm himself down before striking at the Sith Lord standing before him. If his thoughts were clouded by anger, he would die in this office by Sidious's blade, and that could not be allowed. He had to kill Sidious in order to bring peace and order back to a chaotic and orderless galaxy. It was all he desired.

Sidious smiled evilly at his opponent before raising his lightsaber and striking once more. The Doctor, reinvigorated by his cleared thoughts, saw the move coming a brief second before it was made and blocked it with his shoto, striking at Sidious again with his main saber. Sidious managed to avoid the blow, but now he was starting to realize that the Doctor was on the verge of winning the duel. The Grand Master could see it in the Dark Lord of the Sith's eyes. He was afraid. The Doctor was starting to edge out the Emperor with his advantage of a second saber and a clear mind.

This knowledge propelled the Doctor into action. He struck at Sidious rapidly and without mercy. Sidious, seeking a way out again, leapt onto the podium and started its ascension. The Doctor hopped onto the podium and continued his assault, keeping Sidious on the defensive at all times. As the podium ascended, the Doctor searched all around for an opening in Sidious's defenses, but it was airtight. Despite his fear, or perhaps because of it, Darth Sidious was not letting the Doctor through. The Doctor flipped and jumped around the podium, using his superior acrobatic skills to keep Sidious on his toes, but never penetrating the bladework of the Sith Lord.

When the thirty-meter podium came to rest at its peak, the Doctor and Sidious had fought into a saber lock. Their blades were held together, both combatants trying to get an edge over the other. The Doctor pushed at Sidious's blade with his own, and the Gallifreyan finally broke Sidious's defenses for a moment. A moment was all he needed. He struck at Sidious's chest with his main saber...

...and he missed completely.

It was not bad aim, but Sidious's speed, which the Doctor had not expected, that caused him to fail in that attack. He silently cursed himself for not being faster as he tried once more to break through the Dark Lord's defenses. Sidious was still on the defensive, and he was not happy.

"DIE, DOCTOR!" he roared as he and the Doctor kept on fighting.

"Not having fun anymore, Sidious?" asked the Doctor cheekily, knowing he had the upper hand. Sidious simply bared his teeth at his opponent and continued to defend.

It soon became clear to the Doctor that Sidious could only defend. He never attacked the Doctor, but was always on the defensive. It was evident that the Doctor was actually the better duelist of the two, and he used that his full advantage, striking and slicing at Sidious relentlessly.

Soon, Sidious began to edge away from the center of the podium, leaning towards the one side of it. The Doctor took the other side and began to push at Sidious even more than he already had. The grim determination releasing itself in the Doctor's mind as he pushed at Sidious motivated him to strike harder, to avenge the deaths of so many Jedi. The determination kept the anger at bay as Sidious was forced back even further by the Doctor's continual onslaught.

"It's over, Sidious!" called the Doctor. "You've lost!"

"That's exactly what Master Windu said before I killed him!" shouted Sidious, seeking to gain ground with a Dun Möch approach.

"That's not going to work again," said the Doctor, stabbing at Sidious with his main saber. Sidious, reacting instantly, jumped high into the air and landed on one of the Senate seats, deactivating his lightsaber in favor of Force-imbued attacks. The Doctor watched as the Sith Lord took his seat of its magnetic seal and used the Force to take several more.

"Face my power if you dare, Doctor!" shouted Sidious.

The Doctor jumped across the Convocation Chamber to a random Senate seat. Sidious moved his seat high in the air and began to throw the ones he had claimed at the Doctor. The Doctor quickly deactivated his lightsabers and hopped out of the way to another seat as the seat that his adversary had thrown impacted with where the Doctor had been moments ago. He looked up at Sidious and began to think of a strategy of how to get to him. Before he could formulate one, Sidious had already thrown two more chairs at him. He jumped onto the first one that had impacted, then the second one as it flew across the chamber, but Sidious saw the move and countered by moving his chair higher up than before. The Doctor landed back down onto a Senate seat as Sidious threw yet another chair. The Doctor barely made it past that one, and he landed on his stomach. As he stood slowly, he got a brilliant idea.

The Doctor clipped his lightsabers to his belt and prepared for another seat to come his way. One did, and he caught it with the Force. Sidious seemed too distracted by his cackling to notice that the Doctor had started to spin the seat around and around. Faster and faster it went until the Doctor pushed it back towards his opponent. The Gallifreyan heard the laughter cease, then saw Sidious jump out of the way of the thrown seat onto another seat. Sidious was momentarily distracted, and the Doctor used this distraction to jump right up to the Dark Lord of the Sith.

"The killing stops here!" he shouted.

"Not today!" Sidious shouted back as he unleashed more Sith Lightning.

This time, the Doctor was prepared. Using his Force Absorb ability, he caught the lightning in his hands and stored it into an energy ball in either hand. Just like in his vision, however, Darth Sidious's Sith Lightning was the most powerful he had ever come across. The Doctor had trouble keeping up with its power, and Sidious knew it. The Doctor turned his head away as Sidious snarled in victory.

The Doctor soon realized that he had to fight against the lightning for the Jedi who were lost because of Sidious's schemes. All of the Jedi who died during the course of the Clone War died due to this evil, evil man. He had to fight against him. It was his only choice, he realized as the energy built up to an extraordinary level. Just like in his vision on Korriban, however, it was too much energy in one spot.

Just like in his vision, the Force Lock exploded, and, this time, it sent the Doctor flying.

* * *

><p><strong>At long last, it's here! The Doctor and Darth Sidious fight! WOOHOO! This is an exciting time. The next few chapters will, however, be short and sweet, and therefore, maybe not as exciting, but still good, I think.<strong>

**"Adventures of the Doctor" is progressing slowly, but surely. In the next week or so, I'll have a lot of free time to crank out some more chapters. My plan to finish it by the end of the year still stands, but I might be cutting it a bit closer than I had first thought. See, I've started writing another story for a Creative Writing class I'm taking this semester, and I've kind of put AotD on the backburner in that particular class. However, I will be definitely working on AotD during my free time, so I should probably have it finished by the scheduled time, if not before then.**

**Next Friday: The Doctor goes into hiding.**

**Not really much else to say except that I am still very excited for the Twelfth Doctor's first Christmas Special.**

**And that's it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	14. Hiding

Chapter Thirteen: Hiding

The Doctor was overwhelmed by the explosion of the Force Lock that he and Sidious had initiated. He flew across the Grand Convocation Chamber in the Senate building back onto the podium. He hit the side of it with a SMACK and rolled off, not even reacting quickly enough to grab on and continue the fight. As he hit the ground, injuring his arm in the process, he could hear Sidious laughing with glee, sheer and unadulterated glee, and that was when he realized that he had failed. The Doctor had failed to kill the man who had brought such evil and misery to the galaxy.

He needed to run. He needed to hide. He had just tried to assassinate the Emperor of the galaxy. Security forces would be looking for him. He had to get out of there.

The Doctor ran out as fast as he could, using his good arm to pull out his communicator and contact Bail Organa.

"Yes, Doctor?" said Senator Organa.

"Hurry," said the Doctor, trying to be as quietly urgent as possible. "We're going to need careful timing in order to get out of here."

"Okay. I'm in my speeder right now," informed Bail. "Activate your homing beacon when you're ready."

"Where's Jennara?" asked the Doctor.

"She's with me. I told her to get down once we land to get you," said Bail.

"Good. I'll be in touch."

The Doctor cut off communication and ran around through the Senate building, warding off any potential attackers who may have come his way. He could sense that there were clones on his trail, but they were already too late. The Doctor had reached the entrance to the Senate building, and he was running down the entrance hallway when he activated the homing beacon attached to his belt.

As he reached the threshold of the entrance hallway, he saw the red speeder of Bail Organa descending towards him. He stopped running for a moment to let the speeder land, then jumped in, landing beside Jennara, who had resurfaced from underneath the speeder's seat once the Doctor had successfully boarded. The three were soon on their way to the _Sundered Heart_.

"What happened, Doctor?" asked Bail. "Did you kill the Emperor?"

"No," said the Doctor. "I failed."

Bail was silent and somber for the rest of the journey. The Doctor knew he was upset that Darth Sidious was not dead, and he felt the same way. He had tried his best, but it seemed that his best wasn't good enough.

_I failed_, he thought to himself, repeating the words he had said to Bail mere moments before in his head.

_Fear not, Doctor,_ Qui-Gon Jinn's voice suddenly rang out to him. _There is hope yet_.

_Qui-Gon, what hope is there?_ asked the Doctor, but he received no answer. Instead, he felt a small tugging on his sleeve. Jennara wanted his attention. The Doctor looked at her and sensed her strong capability in the Force. He was surprised. One so young should not be as strong in the Force as she was, yet here she was. Strong in the Force. Not quite as strong as Anakin Skywalker had been when he first arrived at the Temple thirteen years ago, but still very strong. She was an enigma. A mystery worth solving. Perhaps Jennara Oswin was even the hope Qui-Gon Jinn spoke of.

In any case, whatever she was, the Doctor had already decided that he would take her on as a Padawan. A young Jedi without a Master could mean trouble, especially now that the surviving Jedi were going to be hunted by the new Empire. She needed protection, and the best way to give her that protection was, in the Doctor's mind, to train her to full Knighthood.

He smiled at her, and she smiled back as the speeder pulled in to the dock containing the _Sundered Heart_. Bail, the Doctor, and Jennara all disembarked from the speeder and left it on the docks.

"There's a chance that some clones saw it," explained Bail. "I've erased all record that it ever belonged to me, and they certainly can't trace it back to you or Jennara, so we're all covered."

"Good," said the Doctor, taking Jennara's hand. "Let's get out of here."

The three boarded the _Sundered Heart_, and Bail told Captain Antilles to make for a system of asteroids in the Outer Rim known as Polis Massa. Once a barren planet home to the now-extinct Eellayin, Polis Massa suffered a mysterious cataclysm that fragmented the planet. Another species called the Kallihadin settled a small base on the largest of the asteroids about five hundred years ago, and they had had little contact with the galaxy since then. The Doctor congratulated Bail for his knowledge of the galaxy and for the intuition to say that Polis Massa would be a good hiding place for the Jedi for now.

The _Sundered Heart_ entered hyperspace. The Doctor retired to a small room to think about what had just happened. He had failed; that was what happened. He had failed to kill the most evil man in the universe, and now he might never get the chance to try again. The Doctor hoped with all his might that Obi-Wan had had more luck dealing with Vader.

The Doctor sighed. He had hoped to end the tyranny of the Sith by killing Darth Sidious, but it seemed that the Force had other plans. He tried to subvert the Chosen One Prophecy, going against the will of the Force, in order to save the galaxy. But maybe the Force didn't want it to be saved, not yet. It was a strange thought, but the Doctor was thinking that perhaps the Jedi should bide their time until...sometime. He wasn't sure when. But there was something coming, a hope for all the galaxy to rally behind.

A knock on his door brought the Doctor out of his thoughts.

"It's unlocked," he said.

The door slid open, revealing Jennara Oswin, holding something behind her back.

"Hello, Jennara," said the Doctor softly, not wanting to be too loud and scare the child.

Evidently, she wasn't afraid of him, and she walked towards him and extended her right arm. In her hand sat a little machine that whirred and clicked. The Doctor took it and examined it. It was really quite a well-made machine. It was a rectangular box with a handle on one side and what looked to be a small scanner on its front. Several blinking lights and other various attachments were present all around the rectangular frame.

"Did you make this?" he asked her, and she nodded her head, obviously proud of herself. "What does it do?"

Jennara took the Doctor's comlink from his belt and held it up to the machine's scanner. The whirring of the machine slowed for a fraction of a second, and then it made a DING sound.

"Oh, it scans for mechanical devices," said the Doctor, amused by the dinging. "And then it goes ding. Ha! I like it. It's quite good."

Jennara opened her mouth as if she were going to say something, but she decided against it and left the room without a word. After she left, the Doctor put the machine by his side and lay back on the small cot he had been sitting on, and he thought. He thought about everything. His duel with Sidious, Anakin's betrayal, Order 66, his dead comrades.

Of all the people who died because of Sidious's machinations, the Doctor was most upset by Stass's death. She had been a close friend to him explicitly, and even more to him implicitly. To know that she was dead and to have watched it happen broke his hearts into too many pieces to count. He loved her; that he could not deny. Now, she was gone. That feeling of loss permeated his very being, cut deeper than any wound he had ever received. He had lived for nine-hundred and thirteen years, and not once had he ever felt a pain like this. It was a punishment worse than death. It was surviving.

His dark, brooding thoughts were interrupted when Bail Organa slid open the door to the room he was using.

"We've arrived at Polis Massa, Doctor," he reported.

"Good," said the Doctor. "I'll be down shortly."

Bail left the room, and the Doctor slowly stood and gazed at his surroundings. Noting that the room felt empty and considering it a metaphor for himself, he began to feel as though he were alone in the universe. It made sense. He was among the last of the Jedi and the very last of the Gallifreyans. Everybody died, yet he kept on surviving, left to wander the galaxy alone. The Doctor quickly concluded that he should never be alone. He needed a companion, someone to keep him in check, especially when he got angry.

Jennara. Jennara could be that companion. Maybe not at first, but as she got older, she would grow to be able to keep his anger and sadness in check. It was perfect, the Doctor thought as he exited the _Sundered Heart_.

The Kallihadin were very kind to their visitors, offering them shelter when Senator Organa explained what was going on. After they had established themselves, the Doctor told Senator Organa to wait for contact from Obi-Wan. He felt confident in Obi-Wan's ability to at least survive an encounter with Darth Vader, if not to win the duel outright, so some form of contact from Obi-Wan was definitely bound to occur. When it would happen was the question.

The Kallihadin also took Jennara to a bedroom where she could lie down and rest from her exhausting ordeal. The Doctor was extremely grateful to the Kallihadin for this act of kindness. She had been through a lot, and some rest is exactly what Jennara needed. Of course, what the Doctor needed was answers. And he would do nothing else until he got them.

The Doctor found a quiet room that overlooked some of Polis Massa's asteroid landscape. He could see the stars twinkling in the blackness of space distant light-years away from Polis Massa. On the surface of the asteroid planet, Kallihadins worked to maintain the base they had set up and study its archaeological history. The Doctor found a little bit of amusement at the archaeologists, but he put it away in favor of concentrating on the Force. He knelt down, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

_Qui-Gon,_ he thought. _I need answers._

_And you shall have them, my friend,_ said Qui-Gon. _What do you wish to know?_

_Why?_ asked the Doctor.

_Everything that has happened these past few days has been the will of the Force. Nothing more. Nothing less. These events are paving the way for a new hope to rise in the galaxy. A hope of which you, my friend, will be a part._

_What hope is there? The Jedi are mostly extinct. The ones who haven't been killed yet are going to be hunted down._

_Yet there is still hope._

_In what?_

_You've met a part of that hope already._

The Doctor knew instantly who Qui-Gon was talking about. The image of a young human female flitted through his mind. Long, dark brown hair and a small smile which betrayed innocence that had long since been shattered.

_Jennara,_ he thought.

_Yes,_ said Qui-Gon. _The young girl you found in the wreckage of the Jedi Temple came to you through no coincidence. Nothing happens by accident._

_You said she was part of the hope, _thought the Doctor. _What, or who, makes up the other part?_

_You shall soon know._

The Doctor wondered what Qui-Gon had meant by that remark several hours after the disembodied voice of his long-dead friend disappeared once more. _You shall soon know_, he had said. Clearly, it meant that the hope was arriving soon. Was it Obi-Wan? It would make sense. Obi-Wan and Jennara were the ones to travel with him through the Temple. Perhaps they would help him to rebuild the Order. But something was telling the Doctor that Qui-Gon had not been referring to Obi-Wan. He couldn't quite place it, but Qui-Gon seemed to be speaking of a new hope. While Obi-Wan was a very gifted Jedi Master, but he wasn't by any means new. No. There was something else coming the Doctor's way. He could sense it just beyond the horizon, coming ever closer, lightning fast, until...

"Excuse me, Doctor," called a voice from behind him. The Doctor opened his eyes and inclined his head to see Bail Organa standing happily in the doorway. Clearly, he had good news.

"Yes, Senator?" asked the Doctor.

Bail Organa smiled for a moment, as if the news was still making him joyous even as he relayed it to the Doctor.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi has made contact."

* * *

><p><strong>We all know what coming next, folks! A new hope for the galaxy at last and stuff! WOOHOO!<strong>

**Alright, so, Episode III is drawing to a close, and I want to know what you thought of it! Leave your thoughts in a review/private message. I love hearing from you guys! Hopefully, you liked it, and hopefully, Episode IV will be just as good.**

**No Doctor Who news, but there is Star Wars news.**

***ahem***

**OH MY GOSH, THE TEASER FOR THE NEW STAR WARS MOVIE JUST CAME OUT AND I SAW IT AND I'M SO EXCITED OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!**

***clears throat***

**Sorry about that. Yes, the teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is here, and let me say that it is totally awesome! Don't care what the haters say! I loved it! What did you think of it? Let me know!**

**And that about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	15. Birth and Death

Chapter Fourteen: Birth and Death

The Doctor shot up as soon as he had registered what was said.

"He made it," he said. "How long until he arrives?"

"An hour at the most," said Bail. "He says he has Senator Amidala on board as well and that she is in critical condition."

This news intrigued the Doctor. He would have to ask Obi-Wan what had happened when he arrived. What was Padme doing that had caused her to go into a critical state? Why had she been with Obi-Wan? Had Vader been a part of what happened to Padme?

Questions bounded through the Doctor's mind as he walked out of the room with Bail Organa to prepare the medical crew. The Kallihadin didn't ask too many questions when the two men went up to them and asked them for their assistance. They simply got to work preparing a room for Padme.

A while later, the Doctor went into Jennara's room to wake her up, but the little girl was already awake. She was sitting up in her bed, looking scared, and the Doctor took pity on her. He sat down beside her and wordlessly offered himself for her comfort. She buried her face in his chest, and he wrapped her in a hug the same way a father would after his daughter had been frightened, anxious, or even heartbroken.

The Doctor stood up, and Jennara took his hand. The two left the room and soon met Bail Organa as he watched anxiously for Obi-Wan to arrive. The Doctor could sense the Senator's worry for Padme Amidala, and the Doctor felt the same worry. Padme had been a loyal supporter of the Jedi Order. She could not be allowed to die from a medical complication, not after the deaths of so many others, not if the Doctor could prevent it somehow.

The Doctor had not seen much of Padme in the past several months, though when he could sense her presence, there was something distinctly different about her. The Doctor could not quite place it, but she seemed to have a certain glow about her that he rarely saw in other people. It intrigued him, mystified him. What could cause her to have such a glow? The Doctor didn't quite know.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of ship engines. Padme Amidala's Naboo starship given to her when she became Senator for the planet was entering the atmosphere of Polis Massa. As the ship was guided to the nearest landing pad by the Kallihadin, the Doctor could see Padme's protocol droid, C-3PO, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the cockpit. He smiled briefly when he saw the ship start its landing sequence.

"They're here," he said quietly as the ship touched down.

The ship's hatch opened up, and C-3PO and R2-D2 exited, followed closely by a tattered and worn Obi-Wan Kenobi carrying Padme in his arms. The Doctor, Bail, and Jennara all dashed up to the Jedi Master, and the Doctor used the Force to keep the unconscious Senator stable.

"We'll take her to the medical wing, quickly!" said Bail with a great deal of urgency. He knew exactly how to deal with situations like these.

The Doctor, Jennara, Obi-Wan, and Bail took Padme to the medical wing the Kallihadin had set up for them. Obi-Wan laid her down on the bed in the center of the room, and the four of them stood back and watched with bated breath as the medical droid began its examination.

"I hope she's alright," said Obi-Wan, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

"So do I," said the Doctor. "What happened?"

Obi-Wan explained his story in great detail. He told the Doctor, Bail, and Jennara that he had figured out that Padme was someone who might have known where Anakin had gone off to. She hadn't told him, however, because she knew he was going to try and kill Anakin. Obi-Wan told her the truth about Sidious and Vader, then deduced that she was pregnant.

The Doctor nodded his head. Now that he knew that Padme was pregnant, it made complete sense. The glow he had noticed was the glow of a woman who was soon going to be a mother.

"Anakin was the father, wasn't he?" the Doctor quickly worked it out, and was confirmed by a nod from Obi-Wan. The Doctor had known Padme to be a bit hardheaded, but this was ridiculous. He had specifically told her twice not to be involved with Anakin's heart, yet here she was, pregnant with his child.

Obi-Wan continued his story, saying that he had followed Padme to her ship and stowed aboard it without her knowledge. The ship had travelled to Mustafar, a volcanic planet in the Outer Rim, where Padme had realized the truth for herself about Vader. Obi-Wan had revealed himself then, and Vader proceeded to strangle Padme with the Force, but not long enough to kill her. A long and exhausting duel between Obi-Wan and Vader ensued, during which Vader was defeated, losing his legs and left arm, then burning alive from the heat of Mustafar.

"I took his lightsaber," said Obi-Wan sadly, subconsciously moving his hand towards his belt to grip the fallen Jedi's weapon. "The last remnants of my best friend."

"Is Vader dead?" asked the Doctor.

"That depends," answered Obi-Wan. "Is Sidious dead?"

"No," said the Doctor, hanging his head in shame. "I failed to kill him."

"Then I expect that Darth Vader still lives, if only barely," said Obi-Wan. "It's alright, Doctor. At least we're both still alive as well."

"That's a comforting thought," said the Doctor, smiling at his friend.

"Excuse me," said the tinny voice of the medical droid. "I have a report on the condition of Senator Amidala."

"And?" asked Senator Organa expectantly.

"Medically, she's completely healthy," began the droid. "Nothing is inherently wrong with her."

"But?" said the Doctor, knowing that the droid had bad news to accompany its assessment.

"For reasons we cannot quite explain, we are losing her," explained the droid.

"She's dying?" asked Obi-Wan, clearly shocked at the thought. The Doctor ventured a glance at Jennara, and he could tell by her sad expression that she knew what was going on.

"We are unsure as to what caused it," said the droid. "At a guess, I would venture that she has lost the will to live."

The Doctor and Obi-Wan glanced at each other. They knew that the cause of her pain was Anakin's fall. Knowing that the man she loved did the horrible, unspeakable acts that he did broke her heart. She could not live without him, and she was without him. Now, she was paying the ultimate price for Anakin's betrayal.

"We must work quickly if we are to save the babies," said the droid.

"Wait a minute," said the Doctor, surprised by what the droid had said. "Did you say 'babies?' As in 'more than one?'"

"Yes," said the droid matter-of-factly. "She's carrying twins."

The Doctor, Bail, Obi-Wan, and even Jennara looked at each other, flabbergasted. How had she managed to keep not one, but two babies conceived by a Jedi so secret for so long? It was not a mystery that was worth solving, however. Padme's children needed to be saved first, even if Padme herself couldn't be.

"Do what you have to," said the Doctor. The medical droid nodded, then told its droid staff to prepare Padme for the birthing procedure. The Doctor and Obi-Wan were allowed to join Padme's side for comfort, while Bail chose to stay behind the glass with Jennara. Both Jedi Masters took one of Padme's hands in their own, and she slowly came to.

"Doctor," she breathed. "Obi-Wan. What's happening? Where am I?"

"You're on Polis Massa," explained the Doctor.

"There have been complications," said Obi-Wan sadly. "Your children have to be saved as soon as possible."

"Children?" asked Padme, confused.

"You have twins," said the Doctor.

Padme gave a weak smile, and the medical droids told her that the birthing process would soon begin. The Senator gripped the hands of both Jedi Masters as she was put into an induced state of labor. The Doctor felt the squeezes of her hand as the contractions came, heard her shouts of pain. He could do nothing as the medical droids worked doubly fast to save her children, but at the cost of her life. The Doctor smiled at her.

"You're going to be alright, Padme," lied the Doctor.

"He said...said I would...die in childbirth...Doctor," panted Padme.

"Who did?" asked the Doctor.

"Ani," said Padme, referring to her lover and presumable husband by his nickname. "I think...I think he was...right."

"Don't say that, Padme," urged the Doctor, even though he knew it was true. "You're going to be just fine."

It occurred to the Doctor that the premonitions Anakin Skywalker had come to him about were premonitions about this very moment. Padme was in pain, for she was giving birth. She was suffering, for Anakin had betrayed her and the Jedi by becoming Darth Vader. Soon, unfortunately, she would be dead, and so would her children if the staff didn't work quickly enough.

Padme gave another scream of agonizing pain. This scream of pain, however, was punctuated by the cry of an infant. The Doctor was overjoyed. One of the children had made it. They just needed to get the other one.

"Ee-see-tah oy-doh," said the droid midwife.

"It's a boy," translated the Doctor.

"Luke," breathed Padme. Luke Skywalker was handed to the Doctor as Padme's screams returned full-force. She gripped Obi-Wan's hand tightly, having lost the Doctor's hand to Luke.

"Ooh-bah, ooh-bah," said the midwife, which the Doctor translated to "Easy, easy."

Padme started screaming again, tears flowing from her eyes. All at once, the Doctor could sense another scream of pain. Across the galaxy, someone was on a surgical table. He was surrounded by the Dark Side and apparently had a strong connection to Padme. So strong that it could have been said that the two of them were in love. The Doctor could only conclude that, in a sick twist of irony, Darth Vader was on a surgical table just as Padme was.

Padme's screams peaked, then died down in an instant, once again punctuated by the cry of a newborn baby, but this cry was just slightly different to the Doctor's ears. It was just a bit different from Luke's cries, being more feminine in nature.

"Ee-see-tah oy-dah," said the midwife calmly.

"It's a girl," translated Obi-Wan.

"Leia," panted Padme.

Obi-Wan was handed Leia as the midwife backed away from Padme, its work completed. The two Jedi Masters held Padme Amidala's twin children as Padme herself was fading. She was breathing heavily, and her eyes were starting to close.

"Anakin..." said Padme. "I know...I know there's...good in him...I know...there is...still..."

Padme gave one final breath, and the Doctor faintly heard the heart monitor she had been attached to give a flatline signal. She wasn't breathing, and the Doctor knew that Vader had indirectly claimed yet another life in his descent into darkness. Jennara began to cry softly, and Bail comforted her as the Doctor and Obi-Wan held the children whom neither Padme nor Vader would ever get to hold.

Yet there was hope. The Doctor looked at baby Luke and sensed his Force connection. The child was overwhelmingly strong in the Force. It, of course, made sense. Any children of a Jedi as powerful as Anakin Skywalker would be powerful themselves. He looked to the sleeping baby in Obi-Wan's arms, and he sensed a strong connection in Leia as well. That was when it hit him.

There was still hope, even amidst the tragedies playing out over the past few days. Qui-Gon Jinn had been right. The hope for the galaxy had come in a way that nobody had expected. Not even the Doctor had suspected Anakin to father any children whatsoever. That he had done so came as a great shock. Luke and Leia were exceptionally gifted in the Force; that much was certain. With time and training, they could become powerful enough to rise up and help what was left of the Jedi in defeating the Sith. The predictions had come true. All of them. The predictions of darkness and despair had unfortunately come true, but there was a thought that kept the Doctor going in spite of the darkness.

It was that a new hope was on the rise.

* * *

><p><strong>Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand lead-up into the original trilogy! Alright, so, the next chapter and the epilogue will mark the end of the prequels and the beginning of the originals! Some say finally, while others say aw, darn, while others still will say sweet! Take your pick! I pick sweet, by the way, in case you were wondering.<strong>

**So, what did you think of this chapter? Let me know in a review/private message!**

**News: "Adventures of the Doctor" finally has a Seventh Doctor story! The Seventh Doctor and a team of Jedi will be taking on the lethal Cybermen in the seventh chapter of AotD! That should be quite the trip, if I do say so myself!**

**That's pretty much it, really. Nothing more to say about progress so far, other than that I plan to finish it by the end of the year.**

**Next Friday: The Jedi make a plan for the ultimate defeat of the Sith, and they go their separate ways to put it into action.**

**That about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!**


	16. Destiny and Immortality

Chapter Fifteen: Destiny and Immortality

The Doctor had a plan. After Padme Amidala's body had been made to look as though Luke and Leia had died with her and sent back to Naboo for her funeral procession, he called Bail Organa and Obi-Wan Kenobi to a meeting in the _Sundered Heart_. Luke and Leia had been placed on small, baby-sized cots, and the Doctor had Jennara keep watch over them while he, Bail, and Obi-Wan conducted business.

They sat in the ship's small conference room. The Doctor was at the head of the table inside, and Bail and Obi-Wan were seated on either side.

"I'm going to make this brief," said the Doctor. "The children need to be hidden for their safety. They cannot be in any place where the Sith might sense them."

"We should split them up," suggested Obi-Wan. "The Sith will have a harder time sensing them that way."

"I agree," said the Doctor.

"My wife and I will take Leia to Alderaan," chimed Bail. "She cannot have children, so we talked about adopting. We've always wanted a baby girl. She will be loved with us."

The Doctor smiled at Bail and his kindness as Obi-Wan spoke.

"What about Luke? Where should he be sent?" he asked.

"He has family on Tatooine," answered the Doctor. "Send him there and watch over him."

"I will," said Obi-Wan.

Sensing that the plan had been decided, Bail and Obi-Wan both stood and bowed to the Doctor reverently.

"Until the time is right, we'll disappear from the Empire's radar," he said. Bail exited the room, but the Doctor stopped Obi-Wan from following suit. It was time to reveal to him the truth.

"Obi-Wan," called the Doctor. "Wait a moment."

Obi-Wan sat back down and looked at the Doctor questioningly.

"What is it, Doctor?" he asked curiously.

"During your exile on Tatooine, I have some training for you," said the Doctor.

"Training?" asked Obi-Wan. "What do you mean?"

"Over the past few years, I've learned how to retain my consciousness after death," explained the Doctor. "And someone has been helping me. He has also learned the secret to this immortality."

"Who, Doctor?" asked Obi-Wan. "Who are you talking about?"

"One who has returned to us from the netherworld of the Force," said the Doctor, smiling. He felt his presence in the room. "Your old Master."

Realization dawned on Obi-Wan's face as he looked around and smiled.

"Qui-Gon!" he exclaimed.

_Hello, Obi-Wan,_ came the voice of Qui-Gon. _It's very nice to see you again._

"He says hello, and that it's nice to see you," said the Doctor, knowing that Obi-Wan could not quite hear him as he could.

"But how?" asked Obi-Wan, still incredulous. "It doesn't seem possible!"

"With the Force, anything is possible," said the Doctor. "Even conquering death."

"And he will teach me how to achieve this power?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Yes," answered the Doctor. "But first, I will teach you how to commune with him. That's my training for you."

"Thank you, Doctor," said Obi-Wan, bowing and walking excitedly out of the conference room.

_I always considered him my finest pupil,_ said Qui-Gon. _Now, my finest pupil will learn one last thing from me._

"Pretty exciting, isn't it?" asked the Doctor.

_For him or for me? _asked Qui-Gon.

"Yes," said the Doctor in response.

_Definitely for me, and I'm sure it is for him as well,_ said Qui-Gon.

"He'll do well," said the Doctor. "I know it."

_Tatooine seems to resonate well with him. I can tell he is at least partially glad to be spending his exile there. But where will you go?_

"I'll be all around. I don't like being in the same place, so I'll be all over the galaxy, travelling."

_I assume you will take Jennara Oswin with you?_

"Oh, yes. She's got a lot of potential, and I plan to nurture that potential."

_In a way that only you can?_

"Yes."

_Then I wish you well. May the Force be with you, Doctor._

"And with you, Qui-Gon Jinn."

The Doctor felt Qui-Gon's presence leave the conference room, and he was left alone. He stood and left the conference room, setting his plan into motion. With a plan laid out in front of him, he could sense that his plan would carry him into another confrontation with the Sith, and this one would be decisive as to who stays and who does not.

He would someday be meeting Darth Sidious once again. When that time came, he would be ready.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's basically the end of Episode III. There's the epilogue, of course, and that'll be full of good stuff. I'll save my send-off for this volume for when I post it, which will be tomorrow.<strong>

**"Adventures of the Doctor" should be finished within the next week, I imagine. By Christmas, certainly, if not then. I'm on the Ninth Doctor story right now, and I'm kinda flying through it. It should be done soon, followed by the Tenth Doctor story, then the epilogue for that story.**

**Tomorrow: The Doctor, Obi-Wan, and Senator Organa part ways to prepare for the rise of A New Hope.**

**Well, that about does it for this author's note. Until the epilogue, my friends!**


	17. A New Hope

Epilogue: A New Hope

The Doctor found Jennara Oswin on the bridge of the _Sundered Heart_. Captain Raymus Antilles was showing her a few tricks with computer spikes while Senator Bail Organa, holding his adopted daughter Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, holding Luke Skywalker, watched, both smiling. When Jennara saw him enter, she immediately hugged him tightly.

"Where are we headed?" asked the Doctor.

"We're about to make a hyperspace jump to Tatooine," explained Obi-Wan. "Unless you had another idea."

"No," said the Doctor. "I just need a shuttle. I also need Jennara Oswin."

Jennara looked at the Doctor, wide-eyed.

"Jennara, I'm taking you on as a Padawan learner," said the Doctor. "Would you like that?"

Jennara nodded her head quite vigorously and hugged the Doctor, her new Master, once more.

"Now, your instruction will be different that your time under Master Kcaj," explained the Doctor. "We won't be confined to one place. In fact, we'll be to the other side of the galaxy and back before your training is finished."

Jennara nodded in understanding, and she took the Doctor's hand.

"Until next time, gentlemen," said the Doctor as he and Jennara left the bridge of the _Sundered Heart_ for the hangar bay. They would take the shuttle the Doctor had recovered from Kashyyyk. It was relatively inconspicuous, and it was easy to pilot. Simple enough, thought the Doctor.

When the new Master-Padawan duo boarded the shuttle and lifted off, the hangar bay doors opened, and they were once again greeted by the blackness of space. The _Sundered Heart_ made the jump to lightspeed, carrying the new hope with it, and the Doctor and Jennara were soon alone.

The Doctor looked to his new companion and smiled. She smiled back and opened her mouth to speak.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"Oh, so you can speak," joked the Doctor.

"Of course I can," giggled Jennara. "So, where to first?"

The Doctor looked out into space and pointed to a star.

"That one," he said. "No, wait," he added, retracting his hand for a brief moment before pointing it to another star.

"That one," he said again.

The Doctor made the necessary calculation to jump to lightspeed, and the shuttle was soon off. He and Jennara smiled at one another again. He could already tell that they were going to become great friends during their time in hiding. The friendship, the Doctor could tell, would carry into when they rose again to reclaim the galaxy from the Sith.

And who knew? They might even have a few adventures along the way.

* * *

><p><strong>And that ends it for Star Wars (Starring the Doctor) Episode III: Revenge of the Sith! I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. There were a lot of big moments captured in this volume, not the least of which being the execution of Order 66, of course! I hope you will all join me again for when Star Wars (Starring the Doctor) Episode IV arrives. Lots of big moments in that one, too! Should be very fun, indeed!<strong>

**Thank you all for your reviews! It means a lot to me that you guys have shared your thoughts about my story with me!**

**So, what did you think of this volume? Leave your thoughts in one last review! *shameless plug is shameless***

**And that about does it for this author's note. Until the next volume, my friends!**

**blade0627**


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